Communication remains key

        From TraveLynn Family

Sometimes we ask ourselves if we are ready for a particular activity. Before I go on a trip, I consider what I will be doing, for how long, and how much room/time I have to pack. I consider with whom I will travel to help understand what unexpected matters I might face and need to resolve. When we setup a team for new activities, we should also be asking, what do we need to pack as resources for the team? 

Every team we build has successes and failures, but what do all teams have in common? They need to communicate with each other to achieve their goals. At the start of the development of a team, they need to pack all the items that will help them communicate. When a team agrees on ground rules that make that specific, then all people know what is packed for the team. As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. To that I will add, trips and teams are both easier when you pack the right things.

For any team, I would recommend we add specifics on the nature and style of communication. For each of these, I would want to answer, how should my team benefit? Some of my best thoughts arrive after my team meetings. When I don't understand a member of my team, should I ask in the meeting or after? When I disagree, how should I do it?

For decisions, several factors affect how hard it is to adapt to change, but our teams should be open to change. When an issue arrives in a meeting, we rarely need it to be resolved immediately. I might not be at my best when confronted with something outside my expectations (surprise! - UHF Clip) during my meeting. If we establish a rule allowing us to reflect and inquire further on most decisions in reasonable time, we prime the pump for the necessary adaptation of Senge The Fifth Discipline Chapter V, X.

For disagreement, lack of understanding, and misunderstanding, one of the root problems is ensuring that one’s mental model accurately understood the original statement. To respond, I recommend the Rapoport Rules (aka Dennett’s Rules) to avoids burning bridges: 1) restate clearly, 2) list agreements, 3) acknowledge what you learned, and then 4) express any significant difference in your opinion for the group. This helps the originator remain receptive to refining the idea. For research organizations, using disagreement to highlight assumptions through dialogue or discussion is key to aligning team members (Bennet et al Chapter 10).

Unfortunately, what I have learned is that it is quite challenging to switch from habits to agreed upon terms. Therefore, it becomes easier if the terms are commonly reused, making them part of the organization's routine (noted by Edmonson & Harvey). I recommend every organization provide a standard team charter, which an individual team can augment or vary. Often organizations do this for legal agreements, offering default positions, standard alternatives, and disallowed fallbacks, making negotiating much easier. Per many, available services, easier negotiation is desirable.