TEAM CHARTER

Once the project has been clearly defined, remaining team members are recruited. This is the time to define the team goals, often referred to as the team charter. The objective of clarifying team goals is to turn a group into a team. Remember, the difference between a team and a group is that team members are interdependent for overall performance. Teams require clarity about purpose, goals, or work products and also need more discipline in hammering out a common working approach. A “real” team also establishes collective accountability and has true interdependencies among team members and real shared accountability.

The challenge for many project teams is knowing the advantages obtained in defining team goals versus the investment required. In other words, how much time is really needed to declare team objectives in order for the team to successfully operate as a true team?

I’m not a big fan of project team charters because I’ve found that often they are too cumbersome to create, manage, and use to effect team unity. However, I do like the intent of the charter. A team charter defines a team’s purpose, approach, and infrastructure while carrying out the project. It is typically a team-oriented document that also includes guidelines on behavior, administrative functions, and relationships. It is designed to allow team members who are otherwise unfamiliar with their peers on the team to be aware of team expectations and their role within the team dynamic.

Too often, however, project teams become entrenched in the documentation of a lengthy team charter, which team members seldom refer to during the life of the project. In fact, many teams find themselves challenged in creating a charter simply because most team members cannot agree on what information should or should not be incorporated into the document. In other instances, project managers exercise excessive authoritative power, forcing team members to comply with their view on how the project should perform.

In the spirit of vanilla, keep it simple: Address only what is absolutely necessary to keep your team on track, and engage all team members in the process. The primary reason for clarifying team goals is to make sure everyone on the team understands two interrelated needs—the project goals and the team goals.

The team charter should be developed during team formation. The project team leader typically takes the lead to draft the team purpose, team behaviors, team membership, and team meeting schedule. Team members must be allowed to comment and adjust the charter to appropriately reflect all team member’s input.

To keep the process easy and effective, establish team goals by including minimal elements in the project charter:

Team purpose. Specify why the team is being created. To make the purpose statement more concrete, ask “What is the final product of this team?” Include a short list of team responsibilities to establish clarity and support the team’s mission.

Team behaviors. Determine the “right” set of behaviors to support productive teamwork. Ideally, the set of team behaviors should exist in a generic form for all teams within the same organization; it is the best way to drive cultural adoption of teamwork across the enterprise.

Team roster. Identify who is on the team including title, contact information, and preferred mode of communication.

Team meeting schedule. Establish when the team will meet, the frequency of the meetings, where the meetings will be held, and the duration of the meetings.

Although this might sound like oversimplification to some, I suggest that the simpler your targets, the more likely you are to reach them. Always challenge yourself and your team members by asking, “Will this information potentially minimize conflict or confusion later in the project or on our team?” If the answer is “yes,” the information probably should be incorporated into the team goals. The team charter template (Figure 2-3) might help.

Many project team charters include additional elements, but be careful. As you add additional pieces of information to the charter, you will slow down the team and divert its focus from achieving its project objectives. Don’t waste a lot of time creating a lengthy charter, only to have team members file it away to collect dust.

It is also worth mentioning that the length of the project will help define team goals. One of the most powerful actions a group can take on behalf of itself and the project is to determine what type of team is needed to best serve the needs of the project. Then the group can proceed with appropriate planning for its own development in concert with what the project needs it to be and with an investment of developmental resources appropriate for the possible return.

Make your team real by making your team charter real. Document the team mission and distribute it to team members.

Figure 2-3 Team Charter Template

Figure 2-4 is an example of how simple, yet effective, a team charter can be.

Because there are a wide variety of teams, team sizes, and organizational protocols, no two team charters will look the same. Therefore, team members have a great deal of latitude in determining what information should or should not be included in the charter. Keep the process succinct and engage all team members in the process.

It’s important that all team members be involved because the team charter formalizes information that is frequently known as “understood” among team members. Some team members (especially those who have participated in many charter exercises in the past) might balk at the notion that they should participate. Try to engage all team members so everyone has an equal stake in the team’s success.

Figure 2-4 New Product Project Team Charter

Because most team charters have little or no enforcement associated with them, the success of the charter frequently hinges on the team members’ verbal acceptance of the words on the paper. One way to encourage adherence is to ask each team member to sign the team charter. There is still no real way to formally enforce what’s written, but team members who sign a charter are usually more likely to adhere to the agreement.

Most organizations rely on teamwork to get the job done. This is especially true for projectized organizations. Yet despite the prevalence of teamwork, most teams muddle along during the life of the project in the absence of a team charter, hoping team dynamics will improve as the project progresses from one phase to the next.

Launching the team with a team charter is an easy, effective way to formalize the group as a team, align team member expectations, and rally members around a common team goal. The next critical step, addressed in Chapter 3, is to implement supporting behaviors.