Pizza, Candy and Team Charters!

Tips to creating a Team Charter and making it FUN!

Our work family sees us more than our own families do! It's vital to have a set of "ground rules" to keep our family work environment from having drama.

Many employees want to be heard and valued. By taking the time to listen and collaborate in creating a team charter, you'll make emotional bank deposits to your team's emotional bank accounts while having a blast!

Our team collaborated to bring you what we found to be the most essential tips on creating team charters:

1. Develop three key points that matter to the team. Getting together and brainstorming key points to focus on while building your team charter is essential. Each team member feels they've been heard and are valued.

2. As a team decide on what three points matter to you all. By sitting and communicating with each other, you're working towards creating a charter each team member created together. Which, in turn, helps create accountability!

3. Brainstorm and decide together on actions for key points. I loved this part! We made this a fun get together with our favorite pizzas, candies, and soda pop. Sitting down and team bonding while brainstorming what we feel as necessary actions to have under our key points helped to solidify our commitment not only in creating the charter but to upholding it once completed.

4. Simplicity is key. Remember to keep it simple. Team charters should be a clear and simple reminder of what the team has agreed to follow. If you bedazzle the charter, you risk team members becoming distracted by the glitter! Keep the jewels and glitter for creating stockings on Christmas. Trust me, and you'll appreciate this tip later!

5. Merge your actions to your bullet points. I call this "pin the action to the key points." I was asked, "Marcie, how do you know what your team likes as far as fun?" My answer, "ASK!" Yes, that simple. People want to be listened to and even more so when you listen and take the time to know who is on your team, creating fun ways to complete projects like a team charter is fun!

6. Finally, bring it all together! After each action is assigned to its key point, you're at the finish line. No two charters are alike. Each is as unique as your team! Make it your own! Put your team's personality on it, and in the end, enjoy the memories you've made with your team! Keep that in mind. I've enclosed a sample for you to view. Whoever said, "You can't have fun while completing team charters" never sat with your creative genius! Have fun, and feel free to post your final charters!