Originally posted on September 12, 2014.
Lots of things we learn at the College are hiding in plain sight as small but powerful tools. On the surface, “Norms for Meetings” looks like what it is—a little list of things we need to keep in mind so that our learning environment functions well for everybody. Just a list of basic rules for the road. But it’s also a tool you can use in every meeting of your team, in this way:
Begin every meeting with a review of the norms you encourage everyone to follow. Use this list and build on it, if you like, or come up with your own. Some groups add fun things like “snacks and cider at all meetings,” or “personal time for check-in” at every meeting. But here’s the insight: if you open every session with a review of norms, you not only remind everyone what the norms are, you raise the consciousness of your team’s shared values and culture. They make the norms their own, and their sense of shared ownership and community deepens.
For example, a work team developed during a congregation’s interim time to focus on the goals and challenges they faced in the months before they called a new priest. “Food at all meetings” was one of their norms. Not only did the regular review of norms ensure that someone brought cookies or crackers to the next meeting, it called to mind the fact that at our weekly Sunday meeting, we Christians always have food at the center. As the months wore on, the group began to appreciate that in their own ordinary, everyday way, they were breaking bread together as a community of faith. Their meetings took on a deeper, spiritual resonance and importance. Everyone became more conscious of their shared obligations to one another, and their deep emotional bond.
“Norms for Meetings”—a list of rules, but also a tool to improve your team, and transform it into a dynamic group.