by Shane M Grizzle | Updated on June 22, 2023

In my professional journey, I have encountered highly skilled individuals who rapidly ascend the career ladder, finding themselves managing a team. Some even leapfrog to more senior management positions with astonishing speed. However, in many cases, companies promote top performers based on exceptional results rather than their aptitude for leadership and management. It is akin to the adage that not all MVP athletes make the best coaches, which is true in the business environment, especially in roles that influence customer experience at the intersection of business and IT.

Stepping into a leadership and management role means running a business. As you transition into this phase, it becomes crucial to recognize that your passion for a specific subject matter alone is not the sole driver of success. The demands of the business extend far beyond expertise in a particular domain. Budgeting, coaching, networking, strategy, and planning become essential focus areas. You become a force multiplier, accountable and responsible for delivering value through your product (e.g., data, analytics, digital experience) and your team.

In light of these points, this blog aims to delve into Team Charters, which can help team-level leaders establish a structure for their business. Some people will argue that Team Charters are outdated and teams require a dynamic and agile environment that fosters flexibility. While this perspective is valid, it is essential to recognize that the value of a Team Charter lies in the specific context in which it is applied, as with any tool or technique. Drawing upon my expertise, a Team Charter continues to serve a purpose for newly formed teams or those needing revitalization.

Challenge

Some team-level leaders struggle to create clarity, alignment, and structure within their teams, leading to inefficiencies, miscommunication, and a lack of focus on critical objectives. The absence of a systematic approach to team collaboration and decision-making hinders the team’s ability to achieve optimal performance and deliver value consistently. A practical solution is needed to address the unique challenges faced by newly formed teams or those needing revitalization.

Symptoms

• Unclear expectations cause employees to misunderstand long-term objectives, resulting in confusion, disengagement, and unpreparedness.
• Misalignment across team members regarding the overall purpose and objectives, leading to different priorities, conflicting efforts, and ineffective collaboration.
• Inefficient communication, such as infrequent and misunderstood correspondence related to statuses and accomplishments.
• Lack of focus among team members or the entire team, resulting in prioritization issues and a counterproductive environment.
• Decreased motivation and engagement as employees do not have a sense of purpose, feeling disconnected from driving meaningful results.
• Difficulty onboarding new team members as they do not understand the team’s dynamics, expectations, processes, or working relationships with other teams.

Solution Consideration – Team Charters

A well-designed Team Charter can solve the challenge of defining purpose for new teams and revitalizing existing teams. By implementing Team Charters, team-level leaders can establish cohesion and purpose within their teams, paving the way for success. Additionally, a Team Charter is valuable for fostering collaboration and alignment among team-level leaders and team members, enabling them to work together harmoniously and achieve shared objectives. A Team Charter provides a structured foundation, promotes effective communication, clarity of team-level goals, and a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities.

By implementing a Team Charter, your team will gain a sense of purpose and direction, leading to improved motivation and engagement. The Team Charter is a valuable tool for onboarding new team members and facilitating smooth integration into the team’s operations.

As a team-level leader, do not delegate this task – you are accountable and responsible for the team running smoothly; therefore, you own the Team Charter deliverable.

Begin by creating a document that addresses the topics outlined below. Feel free to modify or include additional topics relevant to your team’s needs.

Purpose: Clearly articulate the reason for your team’s existence, highlighting its unique value within the company or organization. Define the specific value proposition that sets your team apart. This concise statement will serve as a guiding principle, reinforcing your team’s brand and value during engagements.

Scope: Establish the boundaries and focus areas for your team’s work, differentiating it from the responsibilities of other teams. Clarifying your team’s swim lanes is crucial to effectively guide internal partners and customers, ensuring they understand your team’s specific responsibilities. This focus will prevent wasted time solving problems outside your team’s scope. This step also benefits the company as it will help eliminate redundant work across various teams.

Roles & Responsibilities: Define the key roles required for your team’s success, ensuring alignment with the defined purpose and scope. Avoid unnecessary expansion of roles and be precise about the expertise and skills needed. For instance, if you require an analyst specializing in diagnostic and descriptive analytics, clearly specify the criteria without understating or overstating the needed talent.

Objectives and Results: Clearly outline the overarching objectives of your team and how success will be measured. For instance, if your team’s responsibility is client-side tagging to enhance the company’s digital data collection, establishing a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with internal customers and partners is essential. This agreement should include related performance measurements and key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics that will be used to evaluate the team’s progress and success. Defining these metrics enables data-driven decision-making and provides a basis for assessing performance effectively. Identify where that SLA is located within this document in this section.

Key Stakeholders: Identify the distinct groups that constitute your internal customers and partners. If your end product or service is primarily used internally, consider the individuals who utilize your product or service as customers. On the other hand, a group that contributes to the production of your product or assists in delivering a service can be considered a partner. It is important to note that in scenarios, your internal customer and partner may overlap; therefore, further emphasize the collaborative nature of the relationship.

Decision-Making Guidance: Establish a well-defined framework for decision-making within the team, outlining the key individuals or groups responsible for making decisions, the criteria used to guide those decisions, and the procedures for escalation when necessary. For instance, if your team handles intricate data manipulation tasks, it may be essential to implement a peer review process where junior team members review each other’s work before submitting it for final review and sign-off by a senior team member. Communicate this expectation to foster accountability and ensure high-quality output, minimizing the need for intervention from senior team members unless necessary. By setting this framework, you promote efficiency, collaboration, and the development of junior team members’ skills.

Communication Guidance:  Clearly define the guidelines for effective communication within the team, including the preferred communication channels, the frequency of updates, and expectations for timely responses. Specify how internal customers and partners should interact with the team, whether through an intake form, email, shared wiki, etc. Additionally, establish expectations regarding response times to ensure prompt and efficient communication between team members, customers, and partners. Determine how key statuses and accomplishments should be reported and the desired frequency of such reports. Establishing these communication guidelines promotes transparency, collaboration, and effective information sharing within the team.

Team Norms: Establish the collective norms and values shaping behavior, collaboration, and interactions. Consider addressing various topics, such as leave reporting procedures and calendar updates. If your team operates across different time zones, determine the core business hours during which individuals are expected to be available online (e.g., 9 AM to 3 PM EST). Discuss the team’s stance on minimizing excessive meetings (e.g., implementing a “no meeting Mondays” policy) to ensure focused work time. Additionally, express the expectation for an innovative mindset among team members, encouraging the free exchange of ideas without fear of criticism. These norms will foster a collaborative and productive team environment.

Once you have completed your initial draft, please share it with your team members and manager for feedback. Based on the discussions, make necessary revisions to refine the charter. After, follow the remaining action items listed below.

• To gain valuable insights and perspectives, seek feedback from internal partners and customers interacting with your team. Incorporate their feedback into the charter, making adjustments as needed.
• Share the document’s final version with your team during a dedicated team meeting. This step will ensure that all team members are aligned and have a shared understanding of the charter’s content and objectives.
• Transition the finalized charter to a readily accessible and shareable source, such as a team wiki or folder. This step will allow team members to reference and collaborate on the charter as needed.
• Regularly revisit the team charter approximately every quarter to evaluate if any adjustments or updates are necessary. This review process should not be time-consuming and should be completed within a maximum of one hour. Make any needed content adjustments to ensure the charter remains relevant.

Following these steps, you can effectively build a team charter that establishes clear expectations, aligns team members, and provides a framework for success throughout your team’s journey.

Final Thoughts – Operational Efficiencies

In conclusion, crafting a comprehensive Team Charter as a team-level leader may require an initial investment of approximately 8 to 16 hours, which includes necessary syncs with your team, manager, and relevant internal partners and customers. Additionally, you can anticipate spending around 1 to 4 hours per year for updates, depending on the level of change experienced by your team. However, this effort will yield substantial returns by bringing clarity, alignment, and focus to your team’s endeavors.

While applicable to various teams, the Team Charter is advantageous in aligning activities related to enhancing omni-channel experiences. This domain presents inherent complexities, necessitating collaboration among diverse business and IT stakeholders. Therefore, a Team Charter provides a foundational structure that fosters alignment and agility. It is important to note that the effectiveness of a Team Charter, like any tool, depends on how it is applied. Make sure to avoid creating a bureaucratic and cumbersome document because it will hinder the creation of a dynamic and agile environment.

Investing the time and effort into developing and maintaining a well-crafted Team Charter will significantly benefit your team, ensuring they work cohesively, adapt to changing circumstances, and thrive in achieving their shared objectives.