Why Every Workplace Needs Team Agreements to Thrive
- Chrysta Wilson
- May 10
- 4 min read
In today’s fast-paced, high-stakes work environments, clear expectations and shared values are no longer just “nice to have”—they’re essential. If your team is grappling with communication breakdowns, simmering tension, or passive-aggressive dynamics, you’re not alone. There’s a powerful, often-overlooked solution that could change everything: Team Agreements.
What Are Team Agreements?
Team Agreements (also called Group Norms or Team Norms) are co-created, living documents that outline how team members will engage with one another, day in and day out. They define the shared expectations, behaviors, and cultural practices that help teams operate with respect, clarity, and cohesion.
These agreements often include:
How meetings will be run
How people will communicate (especially during disagreement)
How accountability and feedback are practiced
How equity and inclusion are reflected in team dynamics
They’re not a replacement for HR policies or employee handbooks. Rather, they complement those by offering nuance —capturing the human-to-human agreements that help teams feel safe, supported, and aligned.
Why Most Teams Struggle Without Team Agreements
Many of the leaders I work with—especially those managing hybrid, mission-driven, or rapidly scaling teams—come to me with familiar frustrations:
❎ A lack of clear communication ❎ Unspoken tension that occasionally erupts
❎ Disrespect, including microaggressions and passive-aggressive behavior
My first question is always: “What are your team’s agreements?”
Nearly every time, the answer is the same: They don’t have any.
This is a critical gap.
Without clearly articulated agreements, team members are left to interpret expectations on their own—which often leads to misalignment and unnecessary harm. Even the most well-written handbooks can’t substitute for agreements that are crafted by the team, for the team.
Team Agreements Help Put Equity and Inclusion Into Action
Team Agreements aren’t just about improving communication—they are one of the most powerful tools we have to make equity and inclusion real at the team level.
When done well, they help teams:
Intentionally examine how space is created and shared
Consider the impact of their actions and words, not just the intent
Create shared commitments that reflect inclusion, care, and accountability
Too often, equity and inclusion efforts remain stuck at the organizational values or policy level. Team Agreements bring these values into daily practice, helping build cultures where belonging is felt, not just promised.
This is also why I’m excited to share that we’re launching a new self-paced course on June 1, 2025, called Dismantle the Zones™.
It’s designed to help leaders and teams develop the real-world skills to practice equity and inclusion in everyday interactions—what we call Inclusion and Equity In Action. The course includes our much-requested Wheel of Marginalized and Advantaged Identities®, a powerful tool to deepen awareness of how identity and power shape dynamics on teams.
If you’ve been craving practical tools and thoughtful guidance for culture-building that sticks, this course is for you.
Want to Strengthen Your Culture Even Further?
If you're thinking, “Yes, we need this—and more,” you're not alone. We created a free resource to help you take the next step: The Great Culture Guide.
This guide breaks down the essential elements that make workplace culture inclusive, connected, and effective—whether you're building from the ground up or trying to recalibrate an existing team dynamic. It’s a great pairing with the work of creating Team Agreements and fostering equity in action.
The Benefits of Creating Team Agreements
When you implement Team Agreements intentionally, the benefits ripple across your team and your organization. Teams that use agreements effectively tend to:
✅ Navigate conflict with more clarity and care ✅ Increase psychological safety and trust ✅ Reduce microaggressions and interpersonal harm ✅ Boost collaboration and creativity ✅ Achieve higher performance and satisfaction
And leaders who lead this process aren’t just solving for the moment—they’re laying the foundation for long-term culture change and equity-centered leadership.
Ready to Create Team Agreements? Start Here.
If your team doesn’t have agreements yet, don’t worry—it’s never too late to begin. Start by gathering your team and asking:
What helps you feel respected, included, and safe at work?
What behaviors get in the way of our team doing its best work?
What commitments can we make to improve how we communicate, collaborate, and hold each other accountable?
From there, co-create your first set of Team Agreements and revisit them quarterly as part of your culture-building rhythm.
If you’re unsure where to begin or want examples of effective agreements, I’ve got you. Email me hello@wilson-and-associates. com the word “Agreements” and I’ll send you a starter set of agreements that I’ve used with thousands of clients.
About the Author Chrysta Wilson is a culture strategist, leadership development expert, and creator of the Periodic Table of Great Culture Elements™. Through her firm, Wilson and Associates, she helps organizations build inclusive, high-impact, people-first workplaces using the proprietary T.H.R.I.V.E. OS Culture Operating System.
Her new digital course Dismantle the Zones™ a practical leadership guide for leading with equity at the center launches June 1, 2025. Learn more at wilson-and-associates.com.
