What We Learned About Work from Kindergarten

On the first day of kindergarten, the class sits in a circle and decides on the rules of the playground. To avoid chaos, they should know what to expect when they go outside and play. It's also better that they make the rules together so each child feels ownership of the rules, having made a contribution to the list.

This is, after all, the first time most of them are playing with each other. And the first time that these 4 and 5 year-olds are in a structured setting. So they need rules.

As they share their rules (no hitting, sharing our toys, cleaning up…) the teacher writes them on a big sheet of paper and hangs it at the front of the classroom. Throughout the year, the class will refer back to this list and it hangs as a constant reminder.

As adults, when we join a new company or hire a new team member, it's very much like kingergarten. It's the first time we're working together as a team with new people. In a new environment. And yet, we almost never do the same thing–establish rules together. When we know what to expect, we spend less time managing issues and conflict and can focus on building better relationships and doing our work.

If you’re a team manager or run an office, we’d encourage you to sit down with your people and make a team manifesto. We’ve seen it make a huge difference in team dynamics to establish rules, values and expectations in the following areas: communication, meetings, scheduling, productivity.

Each section should be timed to about 15-20 minutes, and there are no “bad” suggestions. Just spend the first 10 minutes of each section generating ideas and the last 5-10 minutes discussing any controversial rules. Get a basic list going and revisit it every few months.

Typically, each section has one overarching question with a list of topics. For example:
Communication - How might we improve communication between teammates in order to strengthen our relationships? (Topics: Email, Slack, Response Times, Feedback, Social talk vs work talk, etc)
Meetings - How might we develop rules around meetings to keep us focused? (Topics: Invitations, standups, notes)
Scheduling - How might we create clearer time boundaries? (Topics: meeting start/end times, remote, blocking off calendars for deep work)
Productivity - How might we create a more productive work environment? (Topics: Deep work, taking breaks, noise levels)

Not only does having this type of workshop with your team strengthen their relationships and help them focus on their work instead of miscommunications or unclear expectations. But it also allows for faster onboarding and for new team members to catch on faster. No more wasting time on inefficient meetings or getting frustrated with miscommunication.

Try it out and let us know how it goes. (Or reach out and let's discuss how Caveday can help facilitate this conversation with a workshop or team offsite.)

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Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.