Set Clear Team Guidelines to Prevent Conflict

If you were to test your colleagues on procedure, you might be really surprised. Roberts is a time-tested process. Not everybody has even read a book on the process, but everyone is an expert. Well, that’s not a point you want to argue with your team. I suggest that you write a covenant or set of guidelines for your team. It should have at least 10 points and can be very brief and to-the-point. This is not a legal document. It is just what it is titled – guidelines.

Guidelines that are written by the team are usually respected by the team and upheld by mutual consent without the leader being heavy-handed. Guidelines define what is expected of each person, how the group will operate, how decisions will be made and what happens when unresolved conflict occurs.

This should not be a lengthy process. Give time to constructing this document at the beginning of the project or beginning of a new team. The time spent here will save time and ill will later.