Establishing Team Norms

Introduction – What are Team Norms?

Team norms are the rules that define how members of a group will interact with each other.  Every team or organization has a set of norms.  Sometimes these are explicit -intentionally defined, agreed upon and published.  Explicit norms give team members guidelines on how to act within the team.  They also provide a way to hold each other accountable for behavior that supports the objectives of the team.  In the absence of explicit norms, groups usually operate with implicit norms – unspoken rules that everyone is assumed to know and understand.  Implicit norms are often not fully understood by all team members, particularly those that join after the team is established or who do not share common social backgrounds.  When the rules are unstated, it is easy to break them and create tension or conflict within the team.  Implicit norms can also reinforce dysfunctional or negative behaviors. 

In an earlier article, I said being a successful manager means that you deliver the results expected by your organization…and then some.  Working with your organization, department or team to define team norms is one way to create an environment where objectives are met and results are delivered.  Team norms provide a useful framework that reduces friction within the team and allows more energy to be directed toward accomplishing the team’s objectives.  The process of defining team norms involves the entire team, creates an opportunity for discussion and resolution of differing points of view and helps build better working relationships between individual team members. 

In our current environment, the coronavirus pandemic has forced many teams to work in new ways, whether working remote or practicing social distancing in the workplace.  This is a good time to ensure that your team norms reflect the new working conditions and relationships.  Once the pandemic is over, there will be another opportunity to consider which norms are appropriate for whatever “new normal” emerges.

Throughout this article, I will refer to “team norms”, but the ideas can be applied to departmental or organizational norms as well.

Examples of Team Norms

Team norms are best expressed as action statements that illustrate positive examples of the type of behavior the group thinks is appropriate.  Common topics addressed in team norms are:

• Building relationships and trust among team members
• Team communication
• Organizing and conducting meetings
• Handling conflict and disagreements
• Managing work and projects

There is no set format for norm statements.  Each team should agree on language that is clear, unambiguous and understood by the team members.  The statements can take many forms, depending on the needs of the team.  Here are some examples. 

Norms can be simple statements, like these:

• If you commit to doing something—do it. Be accountable and responsible for the team and to the team.
• Trust each other and maintain confidentiality. 
• Don’t throw your teammates under the bus.
• Always present problems in a way that encourages discussion and problem-solving.

A format I have found useful in the past states the norm and then gives examples of the behaviors that support it. 

• We communicate with each other effectively and respectfully.
  • When sending emails, we state when we would like a response from the recipients.
  • We respond to emails within 24 hours of receiving them, even if it is only to acknowledge receipt.
  • When solving problems or resolving issues, we prefer to communicate face-to-face (including Zoom or Skype calls), rather than through emails.

• We make the best use of our time in meetings.
  • We arrive at team meetings on time.
  • We publish pre-reading material 48 hours ahead of meetings. 
  • We complete any pre-work or assignments prior to meetings.
  • We are “present” during meetings, avoiding use of laptops and mobile phones.

Some organizations create very detailed norms.  A good example comes from Mozilla, the company that created the Firefox browser.  They published “Community Participation Guidelines” that define the way their large global team of employees and volunteers, known as “Mozillians”, are expected to behave.  Here is one example:

Appreciate and Accommodate Our Similarities and Differences

Mozillians come from many cultures and backgrounds. Cultural differences can encompass everything from official religious observances to personal habits to clothing. Be respectful of people with different cultural practices, attitudes and beliefs. Work to eliminate your own biases, prejudices and discriminatory practices. Think of others’ needs from their point of view. Use preferred titles (including pronouns) and the appropriate tone of voice. Respect people’s right to privacy and confidentiality. Be open to learning from and educating others as well as educating yourself; it is unrealistic to expect Mozillians to know the cultural practices of every ethnic and cultural group, but everyone needs to recognize one’s native culture is only part of positive interactions.¹

The level of detail you include in your team norms should reflect the dynamics and personality of your team.  A small co-located team may only need a list of bullet points while a large global team may require more descriptive language to ensure that team members from other countries understand the expectations.  You should capture your team norms in a “living” document that is revised over time to reflect the changing needs of the team.  Start simple and grow from there.

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You can see additional examples on the Sample Team Norms page.

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Defining team norms

Here are some suggestions for how to define and use team norms.

Involve the whole team.  Defining team norms should be a collaborative exercise that involves every team member.  Managers, team leaders or key stakeholders should participate, but should not attempt to mandate the definitions.  You can steer the discussion, ask questions and make suggestions, but the ultimate output needs to be owned by the team.  You may need to actively facilitate to ensure that all voices are heard.

Start with some examples.  Give the group some sample norms to begin the discussion.  Make certain the examples include topics that you know need attention.  For example, if the team members are frequently arguing, you should include one or more statements about handling conflict or maintaining respectful disagreement.   Let them review and revise the statements as they see fit.  Large teams can be broken up into smaller groups, and given different sets of example statements.  Once each group refines their statements, they can be combined into a master list and further refined.

Consider your choice of words.  It is important to use language that is clear, understandable and relevant to the team.  Some suggestions:

• Choose simple words and keep your sentences short.  (That’s good advice for any communication.) 
• Write your statements to reflect action in the present.  “We arrive at meetings five minutes early” instead of “We will arrive at meetings five minutes early”.  You want things to happen now, not some day in the future. 
• State the expected behavior as a positive, not a negative.  “We have honest discussions when we disagree” instead of “Don’t argue”.
• Use “we” whenever possible.  Make your statements inclusive.

Allow time for the new norms to “marinate”.   Once the list has been agreed on, allow a week or two for team members to reflect and comment on the norms.  After this short period, you can do a final review, make any necessary modifications and begin to use the norms.

Using team norms

The power of team norms comes through repetition and internalization.  When the norms are new, having them repeated frequently emphasizes their importance.  As the team becomes familiar with them, the norms become a mental framework that shapes discussion, decision making and behavior.  Here are some suggestions about how to use team norms in your day-to-day activities.

Repeat at the start of every team meeting.  An effective way to reinforce the norms is to show them at the beginning of every team meeting.  They can be a slide at the beginning of your presentation deck or a poster on the wall.  You don’t need to read the list, but can offer a comment like “I want to remind everyone of the team norms that we agreed upon.  I hope you will hold me and each other accountable to the norms.”  Give a few moments for the group to quietly read the list and allow time for questions or comments.

Assign expanded commentary by one team member.  One leadership team that I was a member of used this approach.  In addition to displaying the list of norms at the beginning of the meeting, a team member would be asked in advance to offer a personal reflection on one of the norm statements.  Sometimes they talked about how they interpreted the norm.  Sometimes they commented on how the norm had influenced their behavior.  This activity helped us develop a common understanding of the norms and also highlighted areas of ambiguity that could be improved. 

Be a role model for enforcing the norms.  Encourage your team to call out examples of behavior that don’t conform to the norms, including your own.  You can demonstrate how this is done in a respectful way.  For example, if you see a team member sitting silent while a particular issue is discussed, you can say “John, you haven’t commented yet.  I know you have an opinion on this topic.  Since we have established the norm of open discussion to find resolution to problems, I hope you’ll offer your thoughts and suggestions.”

In my experience, it only takes a few examples like this before team members begin to hold each other accountable.  This is especially true if the norms have defined a way of dealing with a longstanding problem, like handling conflict.  In that case you will likely hear someone say, “You know, we’ve always tried to avoid conflict in our meetings, but we’ve agreed to this new norm, so I want to disagree with what I just heard.  Here’s why I have a different opinion…”

Create a rotating assignment as the “norm dog”.  One senior leadership group I observed had a rotating role called “norm dog”.  The norm dog was a team member who monitored behavior during their meetings and would prompt the team to change course if they strayed from their team norms.  This helped reinforce the norms with the entire team and, like the commentary mentioned above, helped each member internalize and “own” the norms.

Schedule periodic reviews of your norms.  Team norms should be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure that they are encouraging the desired behaviors.  Over time, some norms may need to be reworded or even replaced.  I suggest that you schedule time with your team to evaluate your norms at least every six months.  Significant organizational changes, like reorganizations, the addition of new team members or the appointment of a new manager, are occasions when existing norms should be evaluated.  Project teams or other groups with a finite duration should consider defining norms as one of their first activities as the team is forming.

The benefits of defining team norms

There are four ways that I have seen groups benefit from defining their team norms.

Norms provide the “rules of the road”.   A defined set of team norms describes the desired behaviors and provides each team member with understandable guidelines on how they should act and how they can expect others to act.  

Norms provide a non-confrontational way to address improper behavior.  Many people choose to avoid conflict, even in the presence of behavior that makes them feel uncomfortable.  A set of team norms gives people a way to say “Hey, cut it out!” in a way that doesn’t feel like a personal attack or the start of an argument.  “Remember, Bob, we agreed to a team norm that says we won’t have laptops open during our team meetings.  Can you please close yours?”

Team norms help avoid misunderstandings caused by cultural differences.  Many of us now work on teams made up of people from diverse backgrounds – nationality, ethnic, racial, cultural, gender identity.  Taking the time to talk openly about how we will interact gives each team member an opportunity to express concerns that otherwise might go unspoken.  For example, understanding when a Muslim team member schedules her mid-day prayers can help the team avoid conflicts or accusatory comments like “Why are you always late to our staff meeting?”

Norms help your team deliver results.  I once worked with a project team that had been in place for several years when I joined.  The team members were passionate about the project, but had difficulty making progress because of interpersonal disputes and arguments about priorities.  After observing several team meetings, I suggested we take time to define team norms and then consider several other more drastic and time consuming changes.  We spent several hours developing the team norms and put them in place the next week.  

The change was rapid and dramatic.  The team members quickly internalized the norms and began holding each other accountable.  Arguments were replaced by constructive discussions of alternatives.  Directional disputes and turf wars gave way to collaborative discussions.  Domineering voices were toned down.  Work got done and the team met a critical deadline with a high quality deliverable.  After several weeks, we agreed that the more drastic changes I had proposed would not be needed.  Adopting the new norms helped the team to self-correct. 

Yes, there were still disagreements.  There were still some personality conflicts.  But when the team got together to do their work, they had a new framework for dealing with the issues that had previously derailed them.

Conclusion…and an offer

As managers, we owe our employees a safe, respectful environment in which to do their work.  We work with them individually to set performance objectives and work plans, but we must also work on setting the right expectations for behavior in the workplace.  Establishing a set of team norms is a simple activity that can help your group build stronger working relationships, communicate more effectively, align around common objectives and deliver better results.

The offer

If you and your team have recently changed where and how you work because of the coronavirus pandemic, now is a good time to evaluate your team norms. If you’d like some help with the evaluation, send me a note using the Contact Form. I’ll be happy to schedule a 45 minute Zoom call, at no charge, to help you plan how to define, or redefine, your team norms.

To your success,

Mike

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Footnotes

¹  The Mozilla example also gives us an opportunity to consider the difference between guidelines (norms) and policies.  Mozilla says that their “guidelines work in conjunction with Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policies”.  (Emphasis is mine.)

A useful way to think about the difference is this:

• Norms define parameters of acceptable behavior.  They set expectations about how team members act and behave.  Failure to comply would likely result in coaching or possibly disciplinary action.  An individual who doesn’t follow team norms might find it very difficult to work in his/her current team, but might not get fired.
• Policies define protections, obligations and legal requirements.  They define actions and behaviors that are mandatory.  Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action,  termination of employment and even legal issues.

Depending on the content of your team norms, you may want to have your HR or Legal department review the statements to ensure you are not violating company policies or laws that regulate your business.