Working Agreements Play

When to use Working Agreements Play

Use this method when forming a new team, after a reorganization, when onboarding new members, or when existing team dynamics need improvement. It's beneficial for clarifying expectations and improving team cohesion.

What it solves

Miscommunication, unclear expectations, lack of shared understanding of working styles, inefficient meetings.

How to run Working Agreements Play, step by step

1. Facilitator sends pre-work to team members, including a template to capture individual working preferences (5 min).
2. Team members individually complete the template, sharing their working styles, preferences, and feedback approaches (5 min).
3. Leader drafts sections on communication channels and escalation processes in the template (10 min).
4. Facilitate a group discussion to review and edit the communication channels section, reaching a compromise on preferred tools and protocols (10 min).
5. Collaboratively create or refine a meeting plan, defining meeting types, formats, cadence, and participant roles, considering both synchronous and asynchronous options (30 min).
6. Review and edit the escalation process section as a team, ensuring clarity on decision-making and issue resolution (10 min).
7. Establish a continuous improvement plan for the working agreements, outlining how and when they will be revisited and updated (10 min).

Materials needed

• Video conferencing with screen sharing
• Digital collaboration tool (Confluence, Trello, or similar)
• Optional: Physical whiteboard, markers, and sticky notes

Facilitator tips

• Emphasize that this is about people, not just processes. Park process-related discussions for a separate time.
• Encourage active listening and ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute.

Common pitfalls

• Team members dominating the conversation. Use techniques like round-robin sharing to ensure equal participation.
• Focusing too much on individual preferences without considering team needs. Guide the discussion towards finding compromises that work for everyone.

Variations

• Use a 'User Manual' approach, where each team member creates a personal guide to their working style.
• Incorporate reflection questions to identify best practices from other teams and avoid past mistakes.

Running it online or hybrid

Utilize digital collaboration tools like Confluence or Trello for remote participation and documentation.

What it produces

A documented set of working agreements covering communication channels, meeting protocols, escalation processes, and individual working preferences.

Origin

Adapted from Atlassian Team Playbook — source

Build a session around Working Agreements Play

METODIC places Working Agreements Play inside a complete, timed session plan — agenda, worksheets, facilitator guide and slides — matched to your group and goal.

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