What Are the Types of Issues Ground Rules Should Relate to

If you`re creating ground rules for your team, here are some other examples you can use as inspiration for your own: If you want your team to be effective, you need to follow the ground rules – and you need to agree on how to apply them. Many teams that have ground rules don`t use them regularly. But having rules that you consistently enforce can greatly improve the way your team solves problems and makes decisions. The rules can be written or transmitted orally. When the parties work together for an extended period of time, especially when trust is low, they often use written ground rules. If the parties have already established a positive working relationship or are planning only one or two meetings, they are more likely to apply oral ground rules. [13] For example, some teams point out when a team member is not part of the topic by directly saying "It`s off topic" or using an agreed word like "jellyfish." But all these variations in the basic rules are based on the assumption that the person who correctly calls the jellyfish determines that the other person does not belong to the subject. Research shows that calling a team member can have unintended consequences if the person calling them is wrong: the other person will continue to address the issue or close it off for the rest of the meeting. Your team may make an inferior decision because that person`s messages were not heard or because the person is not obligated to implement the decision. The basic rules may be the behaviour of the disputants, the role or behaviour of a third party (e.B. moderator or mediator), the methods or procedures to be used and/or the content of the discussions. In consensus building, the list of ground rules is sometimes referred to as a protocol. This is a first set of rules that is negotiated before or during the first meeting and establishes common rules of engagement for project organization, group decision-making, communication with stakeholders and the media, and the use of data and technical information.

Possible rules or expectations for the facilitator or group leader: Consider including organizational or team values in your ground rules. Ground rules are statements of values and guidelines that a group consciously sets to help individual members decide how to act. To be effective, the ground rules must be clear, consistent, agreed and followed. Where articulated ground rules are lacking, natural patterns of behavior often appear spontaneously. These are called standards. However, there is sometimes a risk that the ground rules will frequent the groups already privileged in a particular dialogue or negotiation. For example, in a dialogue about race, white participants often support ground rules designed to prevent anger from participating in the discussion. But anger is a key component of racial issues, so it needs to be expressed and addressed. [17] Moderators should strive to ensure that the rules established for discussions and dialogues do not further oppress historically oppressed people or prevent a group of people from feeling safe in discussions. (While it is commonly stated that "privileged" groups must be made uncomfortable to learn, meaningful learning and conflict transformation cannot take place if certain groups feel so uncomfortable that they do not speak openly about their problems and concerns.) The basic rules that the group undertakes to respect affect the nature of the moderator`s interventions. For example, ground rules can help create a favorable climate for communication between current or former enemies, as well as people who have suffered severe social trauma.

Rules such as no interruption, giving each participant an equal opportunity to express themselves and refraining from critical and corrosive responses help create and maintain safe communication spaces and promote a sense of security among participants. Communicating openly means that team members and team leaders communicate freely about the work. A rule of thumb for communication can help team members recognize the importance of speaking honestly and directly. Communication is an important part of any team, allowing members to freely express their concerns, results, updates, and questions within the group, and helping team leaders express team goals and expectations in a more transparent way. To be effective, adherence to the ground rules should be based on research on best practices in the workplace. For example, research has identified three outcomes that all management teams must achieve: strong performance, positive working relationships, and individual well-being. But many ground rules undermine one or more of these outcomes. For example, the rules of conduct for negotiations or mediation may be that people should speak individually, listen carefully to the statements of their opponents, or treat each other with dignity and respect. As a general rule, the parties agree that no one is allowed to dominate a discussion or claim special privileges unless the entire group agrees to grant them. Derogatory language or attacks on the values or culture of others are generally not allowed.

[2] We often join a team and assume that all members agree with our assumptions about what is acceptable and what is not. But that`s probably not the case. I sit on long-standing committees where some behaviour has been accepted, although most members have complained about it. This resulted in a low level of commitment to the committee and its objectives. Ground rules or rules of engagement are usually discussed and agreed at an early stage of team formation. Rules can be regularly reviewed and renegotiated when a new person joins the team. They should also be reviewed if the team is not functioning well. Teamwork is important for both temporary and permanent teams. Defining certain principles that your team can follow based on the ground rules is a great way to make sure that each member of your team understands their expectations. The better you understand the proper ground rules, the more effectively you can apply them to your team or even your entire department. In this article, we describe the basic rules, why they are important, and some examples of basic rules that you can use to prepare your own.

Taking the time to talk about our assumptions and our team`s standards can save you time and accelerate results at all levels. Establishing ground rules is part of setting expectations for team performance. Meeting these expectations will build trust and improve accountability. There are different types of ground rules. Some are procedural, such as "start on time and end on time" and "put smartphones in vibration". Procedural ground rules are useful, but they won`t help your team create productive behavior that goes beyond, for example, everyone being on time and vibrating their smartphone. Engaging in a task means that an employee has stated in a meeting or otherwise that they can complete a task completely. .