Part 17 – Why the need for Team Rules?

This post is a lesson excerpt from the How to incrementally improve your Team course

Because the establishment of team rules gives a team its cultural baseline which is a fundamental step in team development.

The rules a team creates for itself says a lot about the teams work ethics and its ways of working, rules state what is acceptable and what is not. By their very nature, all team members agree to be bound by the rules.

This post is about defining rules for your team. It is a case of less is more, 5-6 rules at most should only be created, any more and it becomes too difficult for the team to remember and can restrict the way the team behaves and works. In the case of a new team, rules also help to remove the inevitable confusion and anxiety that usually exists as new team members get to know each other.

As a team, consider a list of ground rules that everyone agrees to be bound by. Everyone will be mutually accountable to each other for obeying the rules. The rules should come into effect soon after they are agreed upon.

Examples of team rules

• Sometimes it’s ok to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

• Our work is consistent with our common goal.

• Neglecting your family is unacceptable.

• We actively support our staff.

• Everyone has a voice.

• If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist.

• Problems are fixed once.

• Be prepared to present evidence.

• Always conduct yourself professionally.

• Ensure that our work standards comply with IT industry standards.

• Asking for and offering help is expected.

• Failure is ok; having a go is what’s important.

• Management submissions are restricted to half a page.

• Our team is non-hierarchical, so we are non-competitive.

• It’s not what you say, but how you say it.

Arrange a team workshop to discuss team rules.

Add an Item to the Weekly Meeting to quickly discuss that everyone has been adhering to the rules. If a team member has broken a rule, light-heartedly, admonish the team member, if the behaviour persists then this is something that needs to be taken up at a mentoring session.

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