Team Work Makes the Dream Work

"Team work makes the dream work," a phrase coined by Atlanta Technical College student, Terrence Whitehead, was probably the most tweeted phrase that came out of the 10th Annual Achieving the Dream conference last week. The Dream conference is a national conference of community colleges who come together annually to push each other toward innovative and data-supported programs for student success.

Speaker after speaker -- students, faculty, staff and administration -- all reminded us of the lasting impact that just one person can have in the life of another. Of course we know that, though sometimes because of day-to-day struggles, we forget. Student Joshua Ortiz of Kingsborough Community College, New York, lauded those attending who wanted to make that impact and, added, "if that's not why you are here, then I don't know why you are here." Indeed.

One person can make a difference but not, unfortunately, a consistent one. Isolated pockets of innovation do not change the lives of more than a handful of fortunate students. To make a significant impact, innovation needs to be backed by colleagues and institutional support: thus the logic of the Whitehead quote above. So, I was interested in one particular conference session focused on how to start teams.

"Guidelines for Team Building," from Kingsborough Community College, were prefaced with the warning label that innovative change can cause cracks within collegiate ivy walls: "Bear in mind, many of us don't feel comfortable with change and avoid 'rocking the boat' or make every effort to 'maintain the peace.'" That's a natural reaction of self-preservation. Change, by definition, pushes the status quo that then pushes back upon the change agent. It's practically one of Newton's Laws of Science. "However," the guidelines remind us, "our ultimate goal is to serve students and foster their success." In order to do that, Kingsborough recommends these seven team-starting rules.

1. "Check your titles and egos at the door." Teams need to be on an equal footing. Comments should be judged on the merit of the idea not the pay grade of the ideator.
2. "Keep in mind that this working environment should be a safe one. Some teams include both subordinates and their direct reports." See the comments on rule number one.
3. "All team members have a voice deserving of equal respect as each of us brings out own experiences and expertise." One might assume that team members are chosen for the team for a particular reason. If they are not allowed to bring their value to the groups, why have them on the team to begin with?
4. "Do not assign blame. Discuss each issue with tolerance, acceptance and an open mind." Finger pointing is not only impolite, it is unproductive. Find out what the problem is, what changes data supports, and what needs to be done to make the changes. If team meetings during into a blame game, trust within the team will erode its foundational effectiveness.
5. "Solving the problem is everyone's responsibility." A solution will be stronger coming from a team consensus after open, honest discussion. Remember, the goal is "to serve students and foster their success."
6. "The focus should be on the task at hand, not the people in the room." Data-driven evidence places the emphasis on the problem in front of the team. 
7. "Bring a sense of humor." Humor can defuse many tough discussions. When a team loses its sense of humor, it needs to adjourn for the day.

Will the team process be hard to implement and manage? Sure, but that shouldn't stop us from doing it. A final student on the concluding panel, Irving Ledezma, Tarrant Community Community College, put it this way, "Life without challenges will never be meaningful. How you overcome your challenges is how you make it meaningful." Schools need well-functioning, hard-working teams to move individual innovation onto institutional policy. Just keep the sense of humor going.