Leadership Development Program: Team Contract

Teams are an integral part of organizations and often asked to solve complex problems within a specific
timeline. Surprisingly, a vast majority of teams fail to achieve their stated objectives. Over the next one
year at ISB, you will find yourself involved in multiple group projects both inside and outside the class.
The purpose of this activity is to provide you a good start.

A team contract outlines the ground rules for a project team. Your study group works together to create
the team contract and then uses it to improve team performance. Benefits include promoting buy-in,
commitment, and common values as well as setting clear expectations and procedures for making
decisions. Team contracts should be customized to meet the needs of the project and the team. Your
team contract should include the following:
• Shared Goals
• Participation expectations
• Decision Making Rules
• Meeting Guidelines
• Norms for managing disagreements
• Feedback giving

Other topics that could be included: Communication, commitment, and code of conduct. Most
importantly, the team contract should be a document that every member of the team actively endorses.
All group members should actively participate in the discussion.

In developing your answers, you should be certain to integrate material from your group activities, the
course readings, lectures, and class discussions. Your answers will be graded on three criteria: (1) the
logic of your response, (2) the integration of course concepts to support your perspective, and (3) the
clarity and quality of your writing. We understand that there can be multiple right answers and that
goals and norms will differ for groups. Thus, our grading criteria are not meant to judge or evaluate your
goals and expectations, rather we are looking for sound rationale and integration of concepts learned
with whatever perspective you choose to adopt.

Final Submission: Your contract should be 2-3 pages long (Times New Roman 12 point font, double
spaced, 1 inch margins) and submission via TURNITIN. Please make sure you mention the full names and
PGIDs of all your group members. This is a group assignment – we need one submission per study group.

DEADLINE: Will be announced post the LEAD week

 TEAM CONTRACT TEMPLATE

We agree to the following terms:

Shared Goals _________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Participation expectations_______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Decision Making Rules_________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Meeting guidelines____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Handling Disagreements
_____________________________________________________________________ ______________
____________________________________________________________________________________

How to give feedback to each other

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Code of Conduct _____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Other norms, terms and conditions (Feel free to use the other side of this page)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

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PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME AND SIGN BELOW

_____________________________ ___________ ___________

NAME PGID SIGNATURE
_____________________________ ___________ ___________
NAME PGID SIGNATURE
_____________________________ ___________ ___________
NAME PGID SIGNATURE
_____________________________ ___________ ___________
NAME PGID SIGNATURE
_____________________________ ___________ ___________
NAME PGID SIGNATURE