How To Create A Remote Team Working Agreement

One of the things we know about performance at work is that talent flows from teams. How well a team communicates, collaborates, and supports the members on it has a massive effect on how well an individual performs. We’ve known this for some time now, but what may be surprising to most people is that this is true no matter the type of team people work on-including remote teams.

It may seem counterintuitive, especially during the Great “Work-From-Home” Experiment many of us are living through. But the success of individuals working remotely still relies on the success and support of the team working remotely with them. To take advantage of this truth, many of the most successful teams (colocated and remote) have found that the best way to establish the norms of communication and collaboration that fuel performance is by creating a working agreement for the team.

A Declaration of Interdependence.

A team working agreement is a living document drafted by a team that outlines the ground rules for communication and collaboration. It outlines how teammates will keep each other updated, how they’ll give each other feedback, and how they’ll communicate-both in what medium and with what frequency.

Creating a team working agreement-or at least the first draft of a team working agreement-is a simple…