Group Agreements
An agreed upon set of "group agreements" ensure that all group members
understand expected norms of behavior, and expedites the group process.
If groups do nothing else, we should all have written group agreements that are modified and re-affirmed every year. This process will probably take more time than people will like, but we have found it to be worth the effort early on.  Remember...work at the front end saves work later on.

At the very least, have an agreement about how decisions are made.

Arriving at a full slate of group agreements will probably take four hours, so perhaps a group just do just one per meeting for awhile.  Or a subgroup can work on these and present them to the entire time.

Guidelines for Group Agreements

  • Write them as a team
  • Review them often
  • Revise them when needed
  • Post them in the meeting room
  • Evaluate group performance
  • Give new members opportunity for input and "buy-in"


A sample group agreement from a real school.
Some possible items for use in group agreements. 
Note:  No group needs all of these, but the list provides a starting point for considering group agreements.
  • Respect confidentiality
  • Everyone participates when working in small groups or teams
  • Observe the start and end times.
  • Be brief and to the point when speaking; monitor yourself
  • Use gender sensitive language
  • Be prepared.  Think about the meeting beforehand.
  • No put-downs or cheap shots.
  • Do not sit in the same seat for every session.
  • Agree to disagree.
  • Give everyone a chance to speak.
  • Build on anther's ideas before criticizing them.
  • Speak for yourself.
  • Stay through the hard parts.
  • Attack issues, not people.
  • Focus on solutions.
  • Keep updated and accurate team minutes.
  • Evaluate meetings near the end.  (What worked, what can be improved?)
  • We will survey (rather than vote) for decisions.
  • We will use consensus decision making techniques.
  • We will suspend judgment.  Listen, don't judge.
  • We will not talk about issues and matters that we can't do anything about.
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