Do You Know What Makes an Effective School Team?

It’s not a secret that when people collaborate and work together, the whole is more effective and efficient, right?  Well, if it’s not a secret and we all know this, then why aren’t we putting those thoughts into action at our school sites?  Don't we owe it to our students to do absolutely everything to be effective and efficient?  Michael Fullan calls it our “moral imperative” and that we owe it to not only to every individual student, but to every individual in our society!  If we want to thrive in our democracy, our educational system must work together to be successful.

I felt charged up again about the need for effective teaming when I read a recent Edutopia.org blog post from Elena Aguilar.  Again, Elena has reminded us of how important it is to TEAM. 

Strong teams within a school are essential to retaining and sustaining teachers. In schools with low staff turnover (even in challenging urban contexts), teachers report feeling connected to colleagues and supported by them. They also describe feeling that they belong to a team whose members are fulfilling a mission together. The emotions activated in this context are those which keep us engaged in a difficult endeavor for a long time. Public education is a hard place to be these days -- we need structures (such as strong teams) that cultivate our emotional resilience.

If a team is effective, then people learn from each other. They accomplish far more than would be possible alone. They inspire and challenge each other. An individual's strengths can be exploited, and we don't have to do the stuff we're not so good at. Again, this is an efficient approach to undertaking a huge project (transforming a school, for example), and it feels good.

What Makes a Good Team?

1. A good team knows why it exists.

It's not enough to say, "We're the 6th grade team of teachers" -- that's simply what defines you (you teach the same grade), not why you exist. A purpose for being is a team might be: "We come together as a team to support each other, learn from each other, and identify ways that we can better meet the needs of our sixth grade students." Call it a purpose or a mission -- it doesn't really matter. What matters is that those who attend never feel like they're just obligated to attend "another meeting." The purpose is relevant, meaningful, and clear.

2. A good team creates a space for learning.

There are many reasons why those of us working in schools might gather in a team -- but I believe that all of those reasons should contain opportunities for learning with and from each other. I have met very few educators who don't want to learn -- we're a curious bunch and there's so much to learn about education. So in an effective team, learning happens within a safe context. We can make mistakes, take risks, and ask every single question we want.

3. In a good team, there's healthy conflict.

This is inevitable and essential if we're learning together and embarked on some kind of project together. We disagree about ideas, there's constructive dialogue and dissent, and our thinking is pushed.

4. Members of a good team trust each other.

This means that when there's the inevitable conflict, it's managed. People know each other. We listen to each other. There are agreements about how we treat each other and engage with each other, and we monitor these agreements. There's also someone such as a facilitator who ensures that this is a safe space. Furthermore, in order for there to be trust, within a strong team we see equitable participation among members and shared decision-making. We don't see a replication of the inequitable patterns and structures of our larger society (such as male dominance of discourse and so on).

5. A good team has a facilitator, leader, or shared leaders.

There's someone -- or a rotation of people -- who steer the ship. This ensures that there's the kind of intentionality, planning, and facilitation in the moment that's essential for a team to be high functioning.

While this is not an exhaustive list of what makes up an effective and efficient team, it does remind us of the mindset we must have as we sit down with our fellow educators.   We must remember that its not about US, its about the STUDENTS and we have a “moral imperative” to do everything we can to work collaboratively for student success.

Thanks to Elena Aguilar (again) for reminding us of the power of teamwork.  You can read more fantastic ideas and insight from Elena at her blog, https://www.edutopia.org/users/elena-aguilar.