Establishing Group Norms/Guidelines Adopt group relationship guidelines or group norms early to ensure group success. By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide

What are Team Norms? Team norms are a set of rules or guidelines that a team establishes to shape the interaction of team members with each other How a group makes decisions, assigns work, and holds people accountable determines team success.

Schedule a Meeting Schedule a meeting to establish and adopt group relationship guidelines or group norms. All members of the team or work group must be present at the meeting so the resultant group norms are "owned" by all members of the group.

Brainstorm Norms All group members should brainstorm a list of guidelines that will help create an effective team. Remember that in a true brainstorming session, the more ideas generated the better. Do not comment on nor critique the ideas. Simply ask a group member to record them on a flip chart or white board where the whole group can see them.

Cross Redundant Ideas from List Once the list of group norms is generated, you will want to cross redundant ideas off the list. You can decide to keep all of the group norms generated, or through discussion, you can determine the group norms you wish to keep and support as a group. There is no recommended number of group norms and new group norms can be added over time if the group experiences the need for more guidelines. Keep in mind that "all" group behavior cannot, and should not, be legislated, but the most important interaction areas do need attention. Examples include effective conflict, communication, and keeping commitments.

Commit Each member of the group commits to “living” the guidelines. They also commit to telling each other if they believe a group member is violating an agreed upon group norm.

Activity Suggested by Mary Jones On butcher paper, draw or outline a body. Inside the body participants write: What factors contribute to making a group work well together? Ways the group is structured. Ways members interact with each other. Spoken or unspoken expectations. Other Outside the body participants write: What factors contribute to making a group low performing?

Establishing Group Norms Mary Jones Members of the group gathered around a large piece of paper and were asked to make a line that best represented them as a teacher. Line qualities were briefly discussed; vertical lines showed strength, horizontal lines appear calming, spiral, hypnotic etc. We discussed that as the school year progresses we sometimes change therefore the line could change or transform. It was interesting to me that at this point no one connected their lines to any others.. Members were then asked to connect the lines with the word “creativity” making one large shape. The idea being that our interest in creativity drew us together and now forms a bond. Members were then asked to decide what expectations we had for ourselves, qualities that would help our group as well as qualities or behaviors that could possibly hold us back. As we openly discussed them, agreed upon qualities were added inside the shape that was formed by the connected lines. Qualities that would hinder us were added outside the shape upon the groups’ agreement. Examples: Qualities that would contribute included; openness, freedom to share without fear, non-judgmental, cordial, supportive, calm, relaxed, peaceful, considerate of time

Distribute and Post Norms Following the meeting, distribute the group norms to all team members. Post the group norms in the team’s meeting room.

Periodically Evaluate Norms Periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the group on achieving its goals as well as its members’ relationship goals. More norms can be added as the team sees the need for additional guidelines.

Sample Team Norms Be PUNCTUAL. Meeting attendance is an excellent indicator of the way people view the importance of others' time. Be PREPARED Be PARTICIPATORY. A good meeting involves interaction among the facilitator and the attendees. Be POSITIVE. Be PRODUCTIVE. Be POLITE. Be PROACTIVE. Be PROFESSIONAL. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Newman