Introduction to Teams

Teams and Workgroups

Team Expectations

Teams are expected to serve as a group that owns a specific domain of the organization. They bring forward ideas to community meetings for how to improve their area, and also serve as a support system for other volunteers to make improvements.

Generally, the expectation is that if someone has an idea to improve the organization, they will bring it to a team first and work with the team to figure out the details of the proposal. Then, once a proposal is well fleshed-out, it can be brought to the board for discussion and approval. If the appropriate team is unwilling to help with the proposal, the person should bring it to a community meeting for discussion.

Teams may be any size, including a single person, if the amount of work does not require a larger group. Single-person teams are still valuable for providing resources to newer volunteers and allowing for areas of the organization to grow as needed.

Teams vs. Workgroups

Teams are intended to effectively carry out ongoing work of the organization. Workgroups are intended to work on a single, time-limited piece of work and are disbanded once the work is completed.

Expectations

• Each team and workgroup will report on their ongoing work to the full board during the monthly community meeting.
• Teams should ensure that their processes are well-documented so that future members can continue to use them. Slack channels should be public unless the team has a specific reason for them to not be.
• Each team must have a liaison from the Board of Directors. The liaison is responsible for:
  • Ensuring that ongoing work is being done
  • Checking in on team members and ensuring tasks are completed, or reassigning/deferring them as needed
  • Ensuring that any team meetings are scheduled
  • Keeping the community up-to-date with their work during monthly community meetings.