K3MT_4

i.e. Forming 2











No matter how old



you are, when you go


out in the world, it is


best to hold hands



and stick together.

Listen to Understand.


Treat each other with respect and dignity



Be open-minded


Don’t be defensive


It’s okay to not know the right answer. And admit it. Find the answer

together.


Practice and experience humility – not everyone will always have all the
answers



If you commit to doing it – do it. Be accountable and responsible


Be genuine with each other in feelings, ideas, and challenges


Trust each other. Have confidence that we are all on the same side





During the forming phase of the team, the team




members must learn about each other and



about how to work most successfully together.



Some Steps in creating a team that is on the




same pages include:

Agree on what you









are trying to achieve










as a team.

Learn each team








members personal goals








and what they want to get







from participating.

Discuss habits (good and bad), personal



preferences and attitudes or sensitivities. Have




a discussion of personal circumstances that



can impact the team’s plans (such as



pregnancy due dates, civic duties, etc.) as




priority and allow room for these situations to fit



into the schedule

What am I agreeing



to?












Why do we need a



contract?

Once the team has agreed upon the expected norms


and signed their team agreement/contract, a natural

progression to the following phases of team


development should occur. Ideas will flow and


acceptance of these ideas can become a source of

conflict, as can perceived commitment and


participation. A successful team will create their

contract/agreement with these unavoidable pitfalls in


mind and because the team established their team

expectations together, they will be ready to deal with any


conflict that does arise.



A team contract is a powerful step in turning a group of



people into a team. Like the rules your Kindergarten teacher


laid out on the first day of class, a team contract or



agreement covers territory such as how members will work


together, make decisions, communicate, share information,


and support each other. Basically, a team


contract/agreement clearly outlines the expected norms for



how members will and should interact with one another.

For these agreements to work, the team also needs to establish in


this beginning stages of forming the team how members will handle


violations and how they will hold each other accountable for the

social contract. Violations of formal or even informal team contracts


can lead to dissatisfaction and lower trust of the teammates. Teams


need to create procedures for providing honest productive feedback,


addressing differences, and knowing when to bring in the experts to


help to get the team on track. Ultimately, the leader and all of the

members must care about each other and the success of the team


for the team contract to have any power in helping a team move


down a winning path.

The purpose of this team working agreement

is to outline uniform expectations for the


Team Handbook project concerning, but not


limited to, the working relations and group


structure among team members in K3MT.



The contents herein addressed are:



Communication, Decision Making,

Responsibility, Consequences



The members of the team are:



Kelly Byrne, Kate Johnston, Kat Lavala,


Malory Morgan, Taylor Vandermark

Communication between team members will be through e-



mail, discussion board, text message, and weekly team


meetings. Members will check their e-mail/discussion


board once daily and reply when requested or necessary.



Team meetings are scheduled every Tuesday evening at


7:00pm. If a member cannot attend a team meeting, they


must communicate to all members 24 hours prior to the



meeting. Failure to communicate their absence will result in


a strike (see “Consequences” section).

All ideas and directions will be kept open until a final



consensus decision is made by the group. If a


consensus cannot be made a vote will be taken and



majority rules. Failure to communicate or acting on a



decision not sanctioned by the entire team, will result



in one strike. (Please refer to “Consequences”



section).

Members of the team are expected to complete any



and all tasks assigned to them by the due date. If



unforeseen obstacles prevent task completion, this



will be handled accordingly. Difficult or unclear



responsibilities must be voiced to other team



members speedily so that they can be clarified or



redefined. Roles will be strictly informal with a


democratic debate system used for decision-making.

Consequences will be based on a strike program with three strikes


resulting in a probationary status and four strikes resulting in


removal from the team. After the 2 strike the professor will be
nd

looped in.



Strikes may be given for any one of the following reasons:



• Missed meetings without either communication 24 hours prior or


a legitimate conflict,



• Failure to abide by the rules presented in this working agreement,



• Low commitment and substandard work presented in assigned

tasks.

i.e. Storming 26

Team work creates increased productivity




that allows for increased collaboration! This




means when you are creating a powerful




team there needs to be a balance between




the benefits and the challenges and that




can only be done through communication!

Every team task should relate back to




the team’s goals, objectives, and





mission. When disagreements do pop




up, the WHY will bring the clarity to the





chaos. The WHY gives the team a focus




and provides a place for the team’s





energy.

Make agendas a team tradition!




This is a virtual team best practice, because let’s be



real: people forget. There are various apps (such as



Trello or Notion) and project management systems



that can be a virtual team’s best-friend, but it can be



something as simple as this template. TEAM TIP: try



to shoot for 24-hour notice regarding the agenda.


This give the team time to contribute and set the



tone for the meeting.

Make it FUN!




Stimulate the realness! Your team, virtual or not,



consists of real people and even though you are not



in the same room, a meeting can still be fun and


engaging! It can be as simple as sharing stories



before the meeting or can be something like a virtual



happy hour. Try to remember your team is more than



heads on a screen. Bring back that humanity!



Be Wise with technology!





Too much of a good thing can hurt





productivity. Decide which platforms




work best for your team and fits the





needs of effective communication. Stay




consistent!

Centralize Communication and Over Communicate




A strong virtual team needs a place where everyone



can be in the know about anything and everything



that could affect the team. Transparent



communication will be the foundation of a virtual



team’s communication culture. Have a dedicated



place for team info like a Google Drive or an app like


Slack.

Keep Feedback Intentional!



High-performing virtual team requires a culture of feedback



and a powerful virtual team knows how to give that


feedback in a constructive way, so they can feel


comfortable saying what is working and what isn’t. A virtual


team can be just as good as an in-person team when they



can put all the cards on the virtual table without fear,


rejection, or hurt feelings. Having a set practice can assist



in this.

Example of a sample feedback process:



Person giving feedback writes up a description of the issue,


observations, and the impact that the person’s behavior is having on


the team in a Google Doc



Person emails the team member or manager to discuss the

feedback




Person shares the Google Doc



Meeting is scheduled to discuss the Google Doc



Everyone stays at the meeting till a resolution of some kind results.

Be Considerate and Keep it Friendly




Last but not least, remember to stay friendly!




Your team consists of people. People who have



lives and stuff will happen. So get clear on how



to react as a team when these things surface,




because they will and set guidelines can curb



the potential resentment.

“Isn’t it nice to




think that tomorrow





is a new day with




no mistakes in it





yet?” – L.M.




Montgomery

• Little face-to-face interactions affects team cohesion and trust



• Have one-on-one interactions



• Successful teams are made of team members who are

purposeful in their interactions. One on one interaction is


important with every individual on the team to make sure


employee engagement doesn’t fall short. During these


interactions, set your expectations and needs. When having


one-on-one interactions, make sure you know when to listen to

what your fellow teammates have to say.

• Managing multiple time zones





increases stress





• Team priorities and goals can get lost





in virtual settings






• Managing expectations and goals

• Virtual Communication can be difficult when technology problems occur


• Misunderstandings can occur from cultural and/or language issues



• Staying in contact between meetings


• Encourage two-way feedback


• To have a smooth team environment, it is important to have two-way

communication. In the workplace, feedback is important to generate


results, where the main objectives are to strengthen progress towards

team goals. A common mistake made when offering feedback is turning it

into a one-way dialogue (feedback) They give no opportunity to team


members to present their own comments and concerns. Encouraging two-

way feedback is a sign of good communication in the workplace that will

give your team a chance to self-evaluate

• Promote Communication and Collaboration


• Team members will be able to communicate better if they are able to

collaborate with everyone well. Encouraging collaboration will promote

diverse skills to make sure everyone is aware of ongoing projects.

• Staying up to date with what each person is doing




• Keeping everything fun and engaging




• Show care and respect for team members




• Show appreciate




• Showing appreciation is an effective way to deal



with low team morale and to make your team



members feel like they matter. This promotes


communication in a team.

Conduct team building activities



Team building activities have a great impact on productivity



and overall teamwork of your team. It can help your people


to communicate better, and also help them to build good


relationships with one another. Create structure


opportunities for your team to collaborate through activities



like team lunch, ice breaker games in meetings, group


meetings, fitness sessions, puzzle solving games or any



outdoor activity.

Conflict isn’t Always BAD…

Leaders often have a vision but are usually able to


communicate this through day to day activities. It is not that


easy with a learning team, there are not physical


communication in a single face to face meeting in which


meanings are less likely to be missed. Technology meanings are


missed, and conflict can be easy to occur. The types of that are


now used include: email, texting, instant messaging, social


networking, tweeting, blogging, and video conferencing. Thus,


they use several modes of communication including project


management software, social media or email.

Communication technology can significantly



influence the performance of a task and ensure



prompt and reliable communication among team


members. Email has increasingly become a standard



mode of official communication for most



organizations. Though even with emails meanings



can be misunderstood, because of voice tones or



body language cannot be taken into consideration.

Diversity produces conflict. No one member of the team is exactly like the

other, nor do they have the same schedule. When individuals come together in

teams, their differences in terms of power, values, attitudes, and social factors


all contribute to the creation of conflict. Barriers to communication are among

the most important factors and can be a major source of misunderstanding.

Communication barriers include poor listening skills; insufficient sharing of

information; differences in interpretation and perception; and nonverbal cues


being ignored or missed. Personal factors include things such as an

individual’s self-esteem, their personal goals, values and needs. For conflict to

be dealt with successfully, team members must understand its unpredictability

and its impact on individuals and the team.

Diversity produces conflict. No one member of the team is exactly


like the other, nor do they have the same schedule. When


individuals come together in teams, their differences in terms of


power, values, attitudes, and social factors all contribute to the

creation of conflict. Barriers to communication are among the most


important factors and can be a major source of misunderstanding.


Communication barriers include poor listening skills; insufficient


sharing of information; differences in interpretation and perception;

and nonverbal cues being ignored or missed. Personal factors


include things such as an individual’s self-esteem, their personal


goals, values and needs. For conflict to be dealt with successfully,


team members must understand its unpredictability and its impact


on individuals and the team.



Poor communication – Communication affects teamwork


in positive and negative ways. The quantity and quality of



communication within a team and from leadership


affects teamwork. Every member of the team needs to



take the initiative to communicate. When a team is not


actively communicating, their work is at stake. It’s


important for everyone to learn how to communicate


effectively to work effectively.