Working Agreements in Teams: Brave New Work Podcast Highlights

Introduction

• Hosts: Aaron Dicton & Rodney Evans
• Podcast: Brave New Work
• Episode Topic: Working Agreements in Teams
• Key Quote: "Unity in essentials and liberty in all else." - Misattributed to St. Augustine

Check-in Question

• Question: If you could choose, what would your last meal be?
• Aaron's Answer: Medium number one with orange high C from McDonald's.
• Rodney's Answer: Fried chicken and waffles.

Main Topic: Working Agreements

• Definition: Explicit agreements on how a team works together.
• Importance: High-performing teams often have documented agreements on work processes.
• Common Areas for Agreements:
  • Meetings: Purpose, design, and facilitation.
  • Decision Making: Methods (consensus, advice, etc.).
  • Tools Environment: Usage of email, Slack, and other tools.

Identifying Key Tensions

• Explicit Nature: Importance of documenting and agreeing on ways to work together.
• Foundational Agreements: Meetings, decision-making, and tools are critical but not exhaustive.
• Purpose & Intent: Teams often lack clarity on their mission.
• Space & Time: Clarifying remote/in-person dynamics and work hours.
• Roles: Defining responsibility and job roles.

Handling Broken Agreements

• Perception: View broken agreements as data, not personal failures.
• Questions: Assess why the agreement was broken and adjust accordingly.
• Conflicts: Avoid personal grudges and seek systemic fixes.

Power Dynamics and Vulnerability

• Leadership Role: Leaders modeling multiple possibilities create safety for proposing ideas.
• Cultural Shifts: Allowing the team to adapt and propose changes without waiting exclusively for leaders.

Specific Examples

• Sports Team Analogy: Compare kindergarten soccer to professional teams with clear roles and agreements.
• Personal Experience: Rodney's proposal to switch communication tools.

Guest Interview: Mike Bravort from Slack

• Guest: Mike Bravort, Director of Engineering at Slack
• Key Points:
  • Slack's Culture: Emerged from gaming industry; focus on making work efficient.
  • Work Hard, Go Home: No work communications at night/weekends; work time is respected.
  • Emoji Conventions: Specific emojis for message reactions, priorities, and task statuses.
  • Public by Default: All communications are in channels unless sensitive.
  • Documentation & Onboarding: New employees are trained on Slack's working agreements.
• Emergent Practices: Emphasis on evolving working agreements; flexibility for teams to adapt conventions.

Steps to Get Started

• Conversation: Open dialogue on what's working or not.
• Documentation: Write down agreements; treat them as experiments.
• Incremental Implementation: Avoid overloading; start with essentials.
• Culture Reflection: Align agreements with team culture and values.
• Adjust as Needed: Continuously adapt agreements based on feedback.

Final Notes

• Defaults vs. Standards: Useful to have defaults rather than strict standards.
• Explicit Training: Ensure all team members know and understand working agreements.

Call to Action

• Review the Podcast: Encouragement to leave reviews.
• Stay Tuned: Announcement of next episode.