Working as a Team
Accomplish program objectives with fun team projects
Fostering teamwork isn't the only reason to assign members to joint projects. Teams of members can accomplish future training goals, National service day requirements, newsletter writing, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and personal development goals. Especially for members who are alone at their host sites, being a part of a team strengthens the esprit de corps and gives members a chance to set goals for the program outside of the scope of daily activities.
Some programs develop team projects using ongoing committees. These committees streamline what could be done by an individual since they accomplish goals that benefit all members.
These resources can help you create great teams to help your members get the job done:
- Member Committees, from the Madison Metropolitan School District, includes suggested committee types, instructions for creating committee goals, and a downloadable spreadsheet for committee members to track their success.
- Minnesota's State-wide VISTA newsletter connects current members and alums as well as highlight accomplishments to host sites, clients, and funders, while empowering members to personalize and showcase their service year. Program Newsletters includes a sample newsletter to get you started on your own newsletter project.
- Building Cohesive Teams is a day-long introduction to team-building concepts.
- Building VISTA and Site Supervisor Teams is a presentation used by North Carolina Campus Compact to foster teamwork between VISTAs and their site supervisors. It can be used with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or a similar communication-style tool.
For additional team tools, visit Teampedia, a collaborative encyclopedia of team building activities, icebreakers, teamwork resources, and tools for teams that anyone can edit.
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