After explaining the powerful, one-off "Four Questions” exercise in the previous "Leading Rwanda” column on 2 July, this column will focus on a more creative structural way for leaders to establish, build and sustain trust with the people around them while dealing with the uncertainty of the "Now Normal” and preparing for the "New Normal”.
Many governments have written constitutions (Rwanda does; the UK doesn’t). Many organisations have Articles of Association and, thanks to Corona, recently updated Business Continuity Plans. Most team projects have a clear Statement of Work (SOW) that lays out what its primary objectives, deliverables and success criteria are.
Within this SOW, there is often a Scope of Work that specifies team objective and tasks and a list of formal roles. This list will usually include such roles as: executive sponsor, internal stakeholders, team leader, deputy leader, external liaison, subject matter expert, technical expert, administrator, recorder, quality assurance, etc.
But what about other very necessary but less well-defined roles, such as: process observer, connector, coach/mentor, thinker/strategist, doer/implementer, creator/innovator, problem solver/mediator? Or even a "Devil’s Advocate” or contrarian to present an opposing view?
When Cisco Systems was expanding rapidly in the early 1990s, it would always have two legal teams doing due diligence for a potential acquisition: one to find reasons for the deal and one to argue against it. And as in a school debate, they would both present their case to the board, who would then decide which way to go.
However, such formal and informal team roles are really just a way to start the long-term process of building true respect, trust, harmony and productivity within a team. Most teams need much more than this.
This is where the idea of a "Team Charter” comes in.
A formal Team Charter is essentially an expansion of both the formal and informal team roles and any ad-hoc groundrules, norms or agreements that are often established for meetings and training workshops, such as: "punctuality”, "focus on the speaker” and "agree to disagree agreeably”.
Most Team Charters will help:
1. Provide a literal, explicit framework for success
2. Engage the whole team and achieve full buy-in
3. Promote clear, open and consistent communication
4. Avoid unnecessary challenges and conflict
5. Overcome unavoidable challenges and conflict
Here is a composite example of what a basic Team Charter might look like, based on real documents drawn up by teams working in business, academia, NGOs, government and even law enforcement:
1. Clearly designated, hands-on leader, who solicits input on, decides on and then clearly articulates and communicates team purpose, scope, goals, objectives, decision making and metrics.
2. Internal communication site, with visual and written profiles of all team members, including specific roles, responsibilities, accountability and contact information. Update as necessary.
3. Open environment. Leave rank and egos at the door. Equal voices. All opinions valid. All questions valid. If in doubt, ask. Never assume!
4. Explicit team agreements and protocols for effective communication. Appropriate, fully functioning tools and equipment, where possible. Only meet as a group, when necessary. Only include essential voices in a group meeting. Always co-create a meeting agenda beforehand and distribute brief minutes and timed and personalised action items afterwards to include and update non-essential personnel.
5. Leader will designate at least two hours a week of "open time” when anyone can request a one-on-one, private 10- to 20-minute conversation. Team members will respect the team leader’s "private time” at home.
6. Explicit team agreements and protocols for effective conflict resolution, when necessary. No gossip. Deal with conflict quickly, directly and respectfully. Only escalate or ask for mediation, if all else fails. Accept outcomes. No grudges or resentments.
7. Any and every change in circumstances or personnel leads to review of item 1 and update of items 2 and 3, including full onboarding for new members.
If you think your team could benefit from such a charter, take some time now to launch the process:
1. Find an hour or two for the whole team to come together in person or virtually
2. Have the team leader or an external facilitator explain what a Team Charter is (and isn’t)
3. Break up into small groups of 4 to 6 people to brainstorm Team Charter items
4. Focus on the "How?” rather than the "What?”
5. Have each group present their two "brightest ideas” to the whole group before a plenary discussion
6. Ask for one or two people from each small group to work in a larger "action team” to combine and refine all of the breakout and plenary suggestions into a draft charter to be considered by the whole team
7. Set a deadline for the first draft and then work on large and small group refinements until a final product is ready
The views expressed in this column are those of the writer who can be reached at jeremy@jeremysolomons.com