Expectations: The Importance of Establishing Team Norms
As I write this, my teammates and I are in the final stages of brainstorming for our senior project in which we will create a game. After we finish presenting our ideas this week, we will be assigned to teams based on compatibility. It’s exciting but terrifying at the same time. A person can have the greatest game idea in the world, but if the team can’t work well together, it became obvious in the final product.
To prepare for my future team’s first meeting later this week, I’ve been prepping by doing research and reminding myself of the steps we took last semester to create a firm foundation for the team.
One of the most important steps in our preproduction is establishing team norms. Team norms are integral because they define what team members expect from each other. This is the first opportunity members will get to express what needs they have and what is important to them and are the key to preventing members from not getting along. These expectations must be followed throughout the project to ensure a culture of trust and respect.
The creation of these norms must be done in the presence of every team member so they may all have a voice and have an explanation for the ‘why’ of the norms that were chosen.
Team norms can cover just about anything. From decision making to how to celebrate a job well done. One fun norm that my team later semester did while working remotely was using zoom’s virtual backgrounds to hold people accountable. For example, whenever someone broke the build, there was a special background they had to use for that day to announce their ‘crime’. It was all in good fun and helped accountability,
One example of a celebration team norm is from a team from last year’s graduating class, Penny Jar Studios. Every person on this team had a shot glass sitting on their desk. Whenever someone did something good, a team member would be a penny in their shot glass to show their appreciation. This was a particularly good method of celebration because the members could see their good actions stack up over time in the shot glasses.
Not every problem is solved by creating norms, but having them helps create the context for team members to gauge their actions. By setting these expectations at the beginning and, more importantly, following through, a team is more prepared to succeed at a project.
