Working as a Team
Donald Heer
10/14/09
Adapted from Terri Fiez, Director,
School of EECS
1
Overview
Team Roles
Group Meetings
Brainstorming
2
Team Roles
3
Individual Roles in a Team
Leader/Facilitator
Recorder
Reporter
Reflector
4
Team Leader/Facilitator
Responsibilities
Keep meeting focused & moving
Open meeting
Review agenda & move through agenda
Facilitate discussions
Manage participation
Help team use appropriate discussion
methods
Close the meeting
5
Recorder Responsibilities
Capture key points for each agenda
item
Highlight decisions and action items
Collect future agenda items
Distribute or post minutes
6
Reporter Responsibilities
Capture the key results from discussion
Present these results to the group when
solicited
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Reflector Responsibilities
Monitor the process the team is using in
activity
Present to the group the effectiveness
of team activity. Reflect on the process:
Areas of strength, rough areas and
areas for improvement
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Group Meetings
9
Setting Team Meeting Ground
Rules
Attendance & Lateness
Norms
Participation & Information Sharing
Interruptions
Decision Making
Quality of Work
Others
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Basic Team Issues
Goals – What is the team trying to accomplish?
Roles – What should each member be doing to help
the team accomplish its goals?
Interpersonal – How are we going to get along and
what are we going to do when we’re not getting
along?
Synergy – How can we best learn from each other?
Sanction – How will we handle situations when
people are not following the team charter and/or not
fulfilling their obligation to the team, including doing
their portion of the project?
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Guidelines for Teams
Meet at least weekly
Meeting should be used to:
Share results of individuals
 Review upcoming activities
 Check teams’ progress

Identify specific roles
Prepare, conduct and determine what
happens between meetings
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Meetings
Be prepared
Come on time
Participate
End on time
Be prepared to drop a topic
Keep records
Value diversity
Maintain positive group dynamics
Listen and have an open mind
Summarize decisions and future plans before leaving
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Exercise
Get into teams
Decide who will take what roles in
meetings for the next two weeks. Turn in a
sheet of paper with who will act in what
role.
 Acting in your team roles:


Review the Roles and Responsibilities Contract
supplied. Discuss what each item means to
ensure mutual understanding of each item.
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Brainstorming
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Why Brainstorming?
Builds interpersonal expertise because all
students participate
Quiets the loudest talker and prevents
quick solutions
Develops a skill that is useful in project
management
16
Verbal Brainstorming:
Procedure
Present a carefully designed problem
Appoint a facilitator to safeguard the
process and a recorder to capture ideas
Recorder copies all suggestions on
board/easel as they are named
Take a moment to think about the problem
before addressing it verbally
Ground rules: No discussion, no reaction,
no judgment
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Non-Verbal Brainstorming:
Why Brainwrite?
Sometimes called “brainwriting” instead of
brainstorming
Useful with controversial, emotionally
charged topics, or when building upon ideas
is more important than creating a wide range
of options
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Brainwriting: Procedure
Pass around sheet of paper with topic to
be addressed written at the top. First
person WRITES an idea and each other
team member builds on, or adds, to
ideas noted
Done silently
 Cycle paper 3-4 times around group or
until people run out of ideas

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References
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/teams/

Benefits of Teamwork | Roles on a Team | Organizing Project Work | Team Meetings | Communicating in Teams | Conflict
Resolution Tips | Bad Behaviors - Dealing with Unproductive Team Member
http://www.foundationcoalition.org/home/keycompone
nts/student_teams.html



Understanding Conflict and Conflict Management
Effective Interpersonal/Intrateam Communication
Understanding Small-group Dynamics
http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/PuzzledAbo
utTeams.pdf#search=%22puzzled%20about%20tea
ms%22

Puzzled about teams…
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