Faced with the unfamiliar requirement of unanimity, groups may initially find themselves debating how they know whether a decision is unanimous. The groups, which can number as many as 100 people, are told that they can t proceed with any action until they re sure they are in complete accord. When team members realize there s no other way to get things done, they start to re-examine what it means to be a team and begin to develop guidelines. We ask that each rule be stated in a single word for ease of memory. Respect is often the first named, followed by honesty or integrity.
Most teams come up with the same list.
What s important is that by the time the list is agreed upon, everybody has experienced what happens without team rules. We then help the group think about how they can help each other adhere to those rules in a cooperative, nonconfrontational way. The egalitarian nature of the process can upset some hierarchies, which can be disruptive. The training can also make people uncomfortable. Everyone is on the hook for the team s success.