- Have a shared sense of purpose—a reason to be a team instead of a collection of individual contributors.
- Engage in shared leadership, but have a designated or appointed leader.
- Establish goals with a timeline for each, and agree about how to prioritize the goals.
- Establish areas of accountability, including expectations for notifying or consulting each other, when necessary.
- Clarify roles that are critical to the achievement of the team’s mission so that team members know exactly what the others expect.
- Before making important decisions, agree on the decision making method: authority, majority, minority, consensus, or unanimity.
- Push for full, relevant participation from each person.
- Clarify and talk about implicit and explicit team norms. (These cannot be imposed from outside the group).
- Encourage active, empathic listening, especially during conflict or heated debate.
- Embrace tension and realize it is both healthy and desirable. Contention, however, is not productive. Engage in robust discussion and confront disagreements.