How to build functional teams at your school.

1. BUILDING
FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
By Janet Allen
1

2. "Talent wins games, but teamwork and
intelligence win championships." -Michael
Jordan
Working on a team = doing your job.2

3. When teachers DON’T Collaborate
 Lack of support from
each other (especially
bad for new or
struggling teachers)
 Loss of trust and/or
respect from colleagues
and administrators
 Parents and community
members who expect
professionalism from their
kids’ teachers are
disappointed.
 Students are deprived of a
cohesive learning
environment with high
expectations and a focus on
best practices.
3

4. Building a functional team takes careful
planning at the beginning of the school year
along with consistency and maintenance
throughout the year.
Build a Functional Team4

5. 5 Steps to Building a Functional Team
To form a team (you don’t have to be the
“leader” to implement these steps):
1. Set Guidelines
2. Revisit and Revise
3. Take Ownership
4. Share Your Strength
5. Make a Personal Connection
5

6. 1. Set Guidelines or Norms
5StepstoBuilding
aFunctionalTeam
Establish a list of norms and
expectations for team behavior at
the beginning of the year and take
turns revisiting them with
conviction at the beginning of every
single meeting.
6

7. 2. Revisit and Revise
5StepstoBuilding
aFunctionalTeam
Open the norms and expectations
for revision at the beginning of
every quarter.
It’s an opportunity for discussion
and for each team member to
exercise his or her voice.
7

8. 3. Take Ownership
5StepstoBuilding
aFunctionalTeam Establish a role for each team member at
the beginning of the year and switch
quarterly.
Roles might include:
 meeting facilitator
 minute-taker
 action-item tracker (keeps a spreadsheet
of action items and due dates and follows
up with action item owners)
 liaison (communicates with
administrators or other teams on the
team’s behalf)
 researcher, snack-bringer, etc.
8

9. 4. Share Your Strength5StepstoBuildinga
FunctionalTeam
Each team member should commit
to setting his or her own agenda
item before the beginning of the
meeting and take responsibility
for presenting it. Share plans,
ideas, and skills that make you
feel accomplished.
*Don’t wait for the “leader” to ask
you to share.
9

10. 5. Make a Personal Connection
5StepstoBuilding
aFunctionalTeam
Check in at the beginning of each
meeting about something positive--
put it on the agenda. Share the best
part of your week, a funny moment
with a student, a lesson you’re
proud of, etc.
Make sure to celebrate your
individual and group successes at
every meeting. Teaching is
challenging and it’s easy to focus on
the negative--make a concerted
effort to share the positives too.
10

11. How can a struggling team rebuild? There
are steps you can take, even if you’re not
the “leader,” to change the course of the
team and maintain professionalism.
Rebuilding11

12. 5 Steps to Rebuild a Team
If you realize that you are on a team that has lost
its way, you have the power to repair the team,
even if you aren’t the leader.
1. Don’t Point Fingers
2. Avoid Gossip
3. Be a Role Model
4. Seek Help
5. Consider Alternatives
12

13. 1. Don’t Point Fingers
5StepstoRebuild
aTeam
Don’t complain if you don’t have a
solution. In Forbes magazine, Kevin
Kruse writes, “If you change
yourself, you will change your
team.”
If you realize you are spinning your
wheels on a toxic team, even if you
aren’t a team leader, you can take
ownership for making it better,
according to Kruse.
13

14. 2. Avoid Gossip
5StepstoRebuild
aTeam
Gossip makes you look
unprofessional, exacerbates the
cycle of negativity and toxicity,
and rarely solves problems.
Protect yourself and don’t
participate.
14

15. 3. Be a Role Model
5StepstoRebuild
aTeam
Contribute professionally in a way you
can take pride in. Maintain your
dignity.
Even if you feel others aren’t stepping
up, divorce yourself from an
emotional response and be a good
example for your students, other
teachers, and administrators.
It’s easier said than done, but it may
save your team and your
professional reputation.
15

16. 4. Seek Help
5StepstoRebuild
aTeam
Consult your department chair,
team leader, instructional coach,
or grade level administrator for
constructive advice and counsel.
They might be able to mediate,
make suggestions, transform your
collaborative model, and help
your team get back on track.
16

17. 5. Consider Alternatives5StepstoRebuild
aTeam If the team truly can’t collaborate in
person, consider asking your
administration's permission to hold
virtual meetings through email,
Google docs, or an app like Padlet
where teachers write their responses
to agenda items and share documents
of best lessons, etc.
It’s not ideal, but provides for some
communication and collaboration.
17

18. Always Remember the Bottom
Line
THE
KIDS!
Mountains of research indicate that when teachers
collaborate effectively, scores go up, the atmosphere of the
school is enhanced, and morale improves.
When teachers collaborate professionally, everyone wins.
18