Team Building Strategies
Setting Expectations for
Your Team

Before you set forth working with your team, one of the most important team building strategies is to set the tone in your working team.

Often, we see misunderstandings, conflicts and disagreements within a team simply because they forgot to do one thing before they started off together: they forget to set expectations right.

“Hey you didn’t include John in the inner circle. Why?”

“He didn’t do his job very well. I asked him to do this but he gave me a sloppy job!”

“But he did what you told him to, didn’t he?”

“No, he didn’t! Look at this.”

This might be something common to your organization; but did you ever consider it might be because you didn’t set the expectations before you gave him the assignment?

This is the same thing in teams. You need to be very clear about your expectations.

Every team has different dynamics because it is made up of different people.

Sometimes changing even one person on the team can change the whole culture of the team altogether.

That is why it is important to put everything on the table before you begin work together.

In my opinion, there are four things you have to place for discussion on the table before you proceed on as a team.

Team Building Strategies #1: Goal Setting
You need to be clear about what goal you want to achieve in your coming together as a team. Good goals are specific, measurable, and realistic and have a deadline. Put it to the table for discussion about what you want to achieve as a group, and put it down on paper.

Once you do that, don’t hide the paper away!

Put it up on a board or a plaque at a place where everyone in the team can see it. This will help clarify expectations and set milestones for your group.

Team Building Strategies #2: Decision Making
You also need to clarify about the process of decision making. Is important decisions made by majority votes? Or do you need an unanimous vote? Or would it be by the leader of the team?

Team Building Strategies #3: Work Division
You need to divide the work clearly and assign people who will be responsible for which part. Who will be in charge of the beginning stages? Who’s in charge of the opening event? How about the ushering during the opening event?

The clearer you are about this, the less room you give to misunderstanding and the more effective your team will work.

Team Building Strategies #4: Conflict Resolution
When there is a disagreement, what is the process to resolve the conflict? Does a mediator bring the two parties together to talk it through? How about using an ‘Indian talking stick’, where only one person holding onto a stick may speak?

You might think that it might be easier NOT to set these expectations, since everyone is in the same spirit of wanting to achieve a goal.

That is the biggest mistake you can make.

It is precisely the fact that you want to sustain the team spirit within the group that you bring all these things to the table.

Ambiguity simply gives room to miscommunication, and hence misunderstanding. Don’t try to save time on this; you’ll be paying a bigger price later.

Basically, you need to set all these issues out on the table and get everyone’s consensus on it.

When everyone is exactly clear about how the culture, expectations and ground rules are, you give room for unity, and move away misunderstandings and discords from your team.

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Creating a Team Mission Statement
Before your team can work effectively, you must set the vision for the team so that every individual in the team understands the purpose of coming together. Are they coming together for a common interest, a specific project, or for a long term vision?

Examples of Team Mission Statements
Here are some examples of good mission statements used in the biggest companies in the world. Learn the elements required in a mission statement and how you can draft a good mission statement.

Formulating Great Team Mottos
A team motto captures the values of a team in a few words or a phrase. Learn about some simple team mottos and how you can create a great team motto for your team.

Setting the Stage for Teamwork
Before you send your team off to do their task, you must set the context and the foundation so that your team will succeed. You need to set expectations, make certain rules within the team and more.

The Barriers to Team Success
There are several barriers to building a successful team. Learn about the pitfalls in teambuilding and how you can avoid them.

Characteristics of Good Teams
Every good team has similar characteristics. Learn six invaluable characteristics that are required to groom an effective, successful team.

Why Doesn't My Team Speak Up?
Getting your team to speak up is probably one of the greatest challenges you will have as a leader. You need to move your team's mindset from the traditional top-down decision making process into the new paradigm.

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