Reference no: EM132253583

Collaboration and teamwork is an inescapable aspect of work life. You depend on co-workers and colleagues to meet their deadlines, contribute their fair share to projects, and to behave ethically and supportively. Of course, you have a role as a collaborator as well. Your role is defined, in part, by your particular skill set, professional experience, and expertise. Beyond this, the dynamics of the organization where you work also determines, to a certain extent, how you can contribute as a collaborator in the workplace.

Unfortunately, many teams within organizations lack clear direction and established boundaries. When communication breaks down between members; when decisions need to be made quickly; when infighting or turf wars threaten a project, how can team members get back on track? One tool in both preventing and resolving team conflicts is a Team Charter. A Team Charter helps “team members recognize their complementary skills, their common purpose, common goals, and mutual accountability” (Byrd & Luthy, 2010, p. 14). Imagine for a moment that you were given the opportunity to design a Team Charter for the workplace. What roles would others need to have for the team to function effectively? What processes would you put in place to resolve conflict and promote effective collaboration? What would be your role as a collaborator on such a team?

For this Individual Reflection, imagine that you are applying for a position in the hypothetical United States-based company Walden Consulting Inc., (WCI). WCI’s mission is to improve teamwork at organizations worldwide. To accomplish this, WCI is interested in constructing a model team to “shop” to other organizations that want to increase their teamwork skills. This model team must be an exemplar of positive teamwork, successful collaboration, and be able to work with teams of all sizes, revenue, and experience levels. WCI is asking all interested persons to create a sample Team Charter as evidence of his or her ability to think through how a model team should effectively operate.

Of course, as a Walden student you have always been passionate about teamwork and teambuilding, and think that your experience, collaborative skills, and expertise on how teams operate would be a great asset for WCI’s model team. You have decided to apply for the position and need to develop a team charter.

To prepare for the Individual Reflection, first research the library and the internet for reputable sources on the content and format of team charters.