Building Functional Teams

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BUILDING FUNCTIONAL TEAMS

By Janet Allen

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"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." -Michael Jordan

Working on a team = doing your job.

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When teachers DON’T Collaborate

Lack of support from each other (especially bad for new or struggling teachers)

Loss of trust and/or respect from colleagues and administrators

Parents and community members who expect professionalism from their kids’ teachers are disappointed.

Students are deprived of a cohesive learning environment with high expectations and a focus on best practices.

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Building a functional team takes careful planning at the beginning of the school year along with consistency and maintenance throughout the year.

Build a Functional Team

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5 Steps to Building a Functional Team

To form a team (you don’t have to be the “leader” to implement these steps):

1. Set Guidelines

2. Revisit and Revise

3. Take Ownership

4. Share Your Strength

5. Make a Personal Connection

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1. Set Guidelines or Norms


Establish a list of norms and expectations for team behavior at the beginning of the year and take turns revisiting them with conviction at the beginning of every single meeting.

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2. Revisit and Revise


Open the norms and expectations for revision at the beginning of every quarter.

It’s an opportunity for discussion and for each team member to exercise his or her voice.

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3. Take Ownership


Establish a role for each team member at the beginning of the year and switch quarterly.

Roles might include: meeting facilitator minute-taker action-item tracker (keeps a spreadsheet of

action items and due dates and follows up with action item owners)

liaison (communicates with administrators or other teams on the team’s behalf)

researcher, snack-bringer, etc.

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4. Share Your Strength


Each team member should commit to setting his or her own agenda item before the beginning of the meeting and take responsibility for presenting it. Share plans, ideas, and skills that make you feel accomplished.

*Don’t wait for the “leader” to ask you to share.

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5. Make a Personal Connection


Check in at the beginning of each meeting about something positive--put it on the agenda. Share the best part of your week, a funny moment with a student, a lesson you’re proud of, etc.

Make sure to celebrate your individual and group successes at every meeting. Teaching is challenging and it’s easy to focus on the negative--make a concerted effort to share the positives too.

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How can a struggling team rebuild? There are steps you can take, even if you’re not the “leader,” to change the course of the team and maintain professionalism.

Rebuilding

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5 Steps to Rebuild a Team

If you realize that you are on a team that has lost its way, you have the power to repair the team, even if you aren’t the leader.

1. Don’t Point Fingers

2. Avoid Gossip

3. Be a Role Model

4. Seek Help

5. Consider Alternatives

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1. Don’t Point Fingers


Don’t complain if you don’t have a solution. In Forbes magazine, Kevin Kruse writes, “If you change yourself, you will change your team.”

If you realize you are spinning your wheels on a toxic team, even if you aren’t a team leader, you can take ownership for making it better, according to Kruse.

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2. Avoid Gossip


Gossip makes you look unprofessional, exacerbates the cycle of negativity and toxicity, and rarely solves problems. Protect yourself and don’t participate.

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3. Be a Role Model


Contribute professionally in a way you can take pride in. Maintain your dignity.

Even if you feel others aren’t stepping up, divorce yourself from an emotional response and be a good example for your students, other teachers, and administrators.

It’s easier said than done, but it may save your team and your professional reputation.

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4. Seek Help


Consult your department chair, team leader, instructional coach, or grade level administrator for constructive advice and counsel.

They might be able to mediate, make suggestions, transform your collaborative model, and help your team get back on track.

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5. Consider Alternatives


If the team truly can’t collaborate in person, consider asking your administration's permission to hold virtual meetings through email, Google docs, or an app like Padlet where teachers write their responses to agenda items and share documents of best lessons, etc.

It’s not ideal, but provides for some communication and collaboration.

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Always Remember the Bottom Line

THE KIDS!

Mountains of research indicate that when teachers collaborate effectively, scores go up, the atmosphere of the

school is enhanced, and morale improves. When teachers collaborate professionally, everyone wins.

Building Functional Teams

Education

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