BRWN-011009 - Building Teams That Work: Designing Healthy Habits, Charters, and Communication
Preferred registration deadline: July 24th
3 CEs
Great teams don’t happen by accident—and they’re not just the result of having the “right” people in the room. High-performing teams are intentionally designed, with clear purpose, defined roles, and shared agreements about how work gets done. Yet in many nonprofit and human service settings, teams are formed and expected to deliver results without the structure or support needed to succeed.
This interactive workshop provides practical tools for building—or rebuilding—effective, aligned teams. Participants will explore the key elements of strong team design and identify how common organizational “default settings” can create confusion, inefficiency, and frustration. Using a team chartering framework, participants will work through the core components of effective teamwork, including clarifying purpose and boundaries, establishing roles and norms, designing communication rhythms, and creating decision-making processes that foster both accountability and adaptability. Participants will leave with a customizable team charter template and a clear, actionable plan to guide their next team conversation—equipping them to create more clarity, cohesion, and effectiveness within their teams.
This is an in-person workshop that will be held on Washington University’s Danforth Campus. The exact location and directions will be emailed to registered participants before the course date.
General Admission: $65**
**Eligible discounts can be applied during checkout.
Class size is limited to 30.
Course Outline
Content Level: Beginner
Target Audiences:
Agenda:
- Introduction, including best team/worst team opening - 15 mins
- Why teams work - beyond good people - 25 mins
- Team purpose and boundaries - 25 mins
- Roles - designing around the work, not the people - 25 mins
- Working together - practices and norms - 25 mins
- Decision processes - 30 mins
- Facilitating the charter conversation - 25 mins
- Commitment and close - 10 mins
Learner Outcomes
- Recognize the patterns of healthy teams and the way organizations tend to move away from them.
- Identify the foundational design elements — shared purpose, roles, collaboration practices, and decision processes — that set teams up for success.
- Apply a team chartering framework to design or redesign the core “scaffolding” for their own team or a team in their organization.
Course Completion Requirements:
The Brown School is an approved provider of Social Work CEs in Missouri and Illinois. To earn credit, attendees must arrive at the scheduled time, attend the entire course, and complete an online course evaluation. You may still qualify for partial Social Work Missouri and Illinois CEs if you miss part of the training. CE Certificates will be available online within 10 business days of course completion by visiting your learner profile at https://ce.wustl.edu/portal/logon.do?method=load&parentSite=brown. You will receive an email notification with specific instructions for accessing the online certificate when it is available.
For more information about CEs, accessibility, refund/cancelation policy, our grievance policy or other inquiries please visit our About Us page or email brownprofdev@wustl.edu.