Many teams will think about how to orient new team members before they join. However, few will come up with a plan on how to transition members who are changing roles within the team until someone leaves their role or the team. Often this is based on the assumption that everyone knows each other’s work and the tasks that are required in each role within the team. Unless the team has cross-trained or defined and documented each role and its task, this is unlikely to be the case. For this reason, it is recommended that in addition to determining team guidelines or ground rules, new teams also decide what roles team members need to play. This is a powerful way to start rotating roles and cross training. This makes the team more prepared when it is mature enough to begin rotation or cross-role training.
An easy way for teams to prepare for roles is to title the role as Timekeeper, Team Leader, Meeting Recorder, Keeper, etc. The team then needs to determine what the functions of each role are, the constraints and assignments of power, what materials may be needed to carry out the role, the team processes for which each role is responsible, and how often these roles they can rotate after their first installment period. The team may decide to have the first person in the role document these items and track their accuracy to ease future transition and rotation.
To facilitate role rotation, the team can develop a power bag for each role that will be transferred from the person who is currently in the role to the next person who will take over. Here are some examples of possible power bag ideas.
- If the team leader or facilitator role will facilitate the meetings, your bag may consist of a bag or box containing the appropriate markers (dry erase or flip chart type) to track key elements in meetings, planning forms, the meeting agenda, room setup checklists, and a pointer for presentation use. Inside the bag or box there would also be a laminated card documenting the team leader’s responsibilities.
- For the meeting recorder or minute taker, your tote can be a team notebook made from a three-ring binder with a pocket or a zippered pen / pencil pouch. The binder should contain tabs for historical records such as past meeting minutes, brochures, copies of presentations, and possibly meeting or team evaluation forms, as well as blank minute forms to be useful in future meetings. If the minutes are kept electronically, then a flat USB drive can also be in the pocket, bag, or a kind of keychain in the binder rings. The unit would contain some historical documents and a template form by the minute. The team notebook would also have a place for the document containing a description or role of the recorder and related tasks.
- The timekeeper’s bag can be a stopwatch or whistle on a rope / chain with the requirements of the timekeeper role also attached on a laminated card. If the leader is also responsible for the timekeeper function, add the above or a small timer to your bag.
- For a goalkeeper, the bag could be a board with a copy of the team’s basic rules that they must enforce with a card that also documents their role. Optionally, if the guardian is a more fun role than that of an enforcer, your bag could be a box with a sticker showing the basic rules and containing “yes” or “oops” tokens, cards or coupons as a way of Visually reinforce when a member displays correct behavior or mistakenly breaks a ground rule. In this way, the guardian does not have to say anything that could interrupt the flow of the meeting, while also providing a reminder of desired behaviors.
The use of energy bags provides an easy way for teams to prepare for different roles such as timekeeper, team leader, meeting recorder, guardian, and whatever else the team deems appropriate. Once the team determines the roles and processes for each role, the power constraints, the materials needed to successfully carry out each role, and the frequency with which the roles will rotate, they can begin to develop power totes and properly document the role. The team should prepare a power bag for each role and ensure it is transferred in a timely manner when roles are rotated to facilitate the transition process for the next person in the new role.
With this process, the team is more prepared to begin rotation or cross-role training once they have matured as a team. A simple planning and documentation process can make new member orientation and role transition between team members easier and more likely to be successful. Once the team has established its guidelines or ground rules, it must determine their roles that will be played by various team members and develop the rotation plan to reduce the time required for future cross-training.
NOTE: Reproducible forms for meeting minutes, presentations, checklists, agendas, action items, and evaluations can be found in the book. RA! RA! The approach of a meeting attendee.
