Team Chartering

Purpose

Team Chartering creates a shared social contract that defines how the team will work together. By making norms explicit early, the team reduces friction, builds psychological safety, and establishes accountability.

At a glance

How to run

1. Purpose (15 min) — Why does this team exist? What outcome does the organisation expect? Craft a team mission statement.
2. Values (15 min) — Each person writes their top 3 values on sticky notes. Cluster and discuss. Select 3–5 shared values.
3. Working agreements (20 min) — Brainstorm concrete behaviours: core hours, meeting norms, response times, decision-making approach. Vote on each.
4. Roles and responsibilities (15 min) — Clarify who does what. Use a RACI-light: for key activities, who is Responsible, who is Consulted.
5. Communication norms (15 min) — Agree on tools, channels, and expected response times.
6. Sign the charter (10 min) — Everyone verbally commits. Post the charter visibly.

Materials needed

• Charter template (poster or digital document)
• Sticky notes and markers
• Dot-voting stickers
• Team member list

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Charter imposed by the manager — The team must own it; facilitation, not dictation.
• Too many agreements — Keep to 5–10 working agreements max; more will be forgotten.
• Never revisited — Review the charter at retrospectives and when team membership changes.
• Skipping values — Without shared values, working agreements lack anchoring.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Use silent writing for values and agreements before group discussion.
• Ensure the charter language is accessible to all team members.
• Allow asynchronous contributions if some members cannot attend live.

Variations

• Team canvas — Use the Team Canvas or Team Alignment Map as a structured visual template.
• Charter refresh — For existing teams, audit the current charter against reality and update.
• Mini charter — 30-minute version covering only working agreements and communication norms.

When NOT to use this

• If the team has been together for years and has strong implicit norms — a retrospective is more appropriate.
• If the team is being dissolved in the next Sprint — the investment does not pay off.

Source & further reading

• Larsen, D. & Nies, A. (2016). *Liftoff*. Pragmatic Bookshelf.
• Derby, E. & Larsen, D. (2006). *Agile Retrospectives*. Pragmatic Bookshelf.