We need to work together better as a team.
This comment and ones like it, have become a common theme in our work over the last couple of months. A combination of remote working, less staff capacity, fatigue and a sense that we are in for a long period of continuing uncertainty and disruption are combining to focus minds on how people work together in teams.
The internet is full of resources on building better teams from serious academic studies to former CEOs telling war stories and there are some great frameworks but having honest, open conversations about how we work with our colleagues can feel uncomfortable and intrusive. So we came up with a canvas to help you to have those conversations in a creative, non-threatening way that naturally leads to action. Our thinking started with Susan sketching out some of the themes we were spotting.
After a bit of development the canvas now has seven elements.
- Context – the overarching context in which the team’s work happens
- Why does this team matter?
- What are the major constraints on its work?
- Purpose – why does this team exist?
- How does it contribute to the whole organisation’s performance?
- What aims and objectives might it have?
- Resources
- What resources does the team have available to it e.g. time, budget and support from others?
- Ways of working
- How does the team manage itself and its work in and between meetings?
- Composition and roles
- Who is involved?
- What roles do they play?
- What are they responsible for?
- Authority and empowerment
- What decisions can this team take and what decisions do they need to refer to others?
- When do they need to work with others?
- What commitment is expected from team members?
- Climate
- What expectations do you have of each other as team members?
- How easy it is to speak your mind?
- What kind of a team atmosphere do you want to create?
A PDF template with prompts can be downloaded here (let us know if you would like an alternative format).
If a one page canvas doesn’t work for you, you can also download the prompts as a set of cards to cut out and keep (as my childhood craft magazines used to say!). Once cut up they can be used randomly by placing them face down and selecting them one at a time, or choose the card that most resonates with you, or you can focus on one particular area. They can easily be held up and shared during a virtual meeting.
Tips for developing a canvas whilst working remotely
- Circulate the canvas to everyone involved and ask them to spend a few minutes familiarising themselves with it and jotting down some ideas so they are ready to contribute.
- Prepare for the discussion by creating a canvas either on a virtual whiteboard or a shared document so everyone can see the canvas as it develops. Try to avoid using the share screen function so you can see each other and the document.
- Open the discussion by talking about the case for change – why do you want/need to work differently? This will naturally lead into the first box: Context.
- From Context move to Purpose. Be prepared to keep coming back to Purpose, it is the heart of the canvas and all the other elements need to align with it. For permanent, well established teams agreeing on Purpose is not always easy – for example a Senior Management Team is just an expected part of a structure, we don’t often ask what its job is.
- Tackle the other boxes in whatever order works for you. You might want to move into break out groups to work on different areas and then come back together to compare notes.
- Review your canvas. Change and improve. When you are happy that it captures how you want to work, identify and commit to the changes in behaviour and process that you will need to make your vision a reality.
- Remember: this is a sketch not a full document. Think words or short phrases, not sentences. Use visuals to express ideas.
This tool is a prototype, like others we have shared. We would love to hear what you think, what works for you and what doesn’t.
Susan and Dawn