The Unicorn Series: Moving Initiatives Forward with Development Teams Post # 1: The What, Why, and When of Development Teams

WHAT is a “development team”?

We coined the term “development team” to distinguish a group of individuals who collaborate for a specified time with a clear goal from working groups or committees. Development teams are a hybrid of next-level teams and tiger teams. They differ from standing committees or working groups in scope and time commitment. What we call “development teams” meet for two-three synchronous two-hour meetings. This is flexible, however, and depends on the scope of the task and team member availability.

Distinguishing features:

1. The “something new” that a team comes together to work on is clear and all team members are clear about the work we are doing together. 
2. The task and deliverables are clearly outlined, shared, and agreed upon.
3. The development team’s task is appropriately scoped and time-bound.
4. The team goals are SMART.
5. The task is do-able.
6. The work of the team is deliberate and focused on getting the job done.
7. Representation on development teams is diverse. Team members represent the units/programs that have a stake in the resultant product.^[1]

WHY take a development team approach?

With initiatives that have the potential to be of value to all health science colleges and programs^[2] collaborating on development teams is integral to the success of developing shared initiatives.

The beauty of a development team approach is that:

1. Participation is optional^[3]; no member is “volun-told”.
2. There is a great deal of enthusiasm, energy, and enjoyment in working on development teams–members are creative, contributive, and collaborative.
3. Team members can contribute ideas–with no strings attached.
4. Together, we accomplish a lot in a relatively short period of time–and have fun while doing it! 🥳 This contributes to the energy and enthusiasm of the team.
5. Team members are under no pressure to implement what the team has built.
6. At the conclusion of the task and the agreed upon time commitment, team members are under no further obligation to the project.
7. Team members are not restricted by any long-term obligations and have the opportunity to contribute openly and freely.
8. The work done by development teams is useful and shared.^[4]
9. Team members are interested, informed, and available to create together.
10. In the process of growing new initiatives together, development teams also build community and foster a culture of collaboration and teamwork.
11. Development teams are effective^[5] and efficient^[6].
12. Team members share the same goal and enthusiasm for the task at hand.
13. Team members are knowledgeable about, interested in, and experienced with the focus of the team task. 
14. The unique perspective that each team member brings strengthens the team–and the resultant product.
15. Team processes are equitable and transparent throughout the process from programs connecting us^[7] with team members, to the sign-off (and celebration) of the completed project to keeping team members in the loop on changes moving forward. All the great ideas that are generated during discussions are kept for future projects; no ideas are lost. We have ways^[8] to keep gems safe. 💎

WHEN to take a development team approach

In our experience, we have formed development teams when there is a clearly defined initiative that can be completed in a relatively short period of time. In situations where both the task and timeline are clear, and the purpose is to build something new, development teams are perfect!

Our development teams, in their first meeting, equipped with nothing more than a topic^[9] and a blank Google Doc, work in the creative inspirational “fuzzy front end” of the project. By the second, teams move into the ideation phase and by the third meeting we have headed into the implementation phase of this portion of the project. At this point, “implementation”, the project is generally handed over to a new team that implements–or uses–what has been built.

When we are creating “new” things together by building on the best that is available, something special happens. Completing tasks together is exciting, stimulating, energizing, and rewarding. Innovative ideas flow!

When building something that will have applicability, utility, and relevance for multiple programs, we have found that we need interdisciplinary teams. Development team members need one another and rely on one another to do this work. When any one member could create the “something” on their own, a development team isn’t necessary. Development teams function as a result of meaningful, logical, and authentic positive interdependence.  

In closing

Think for a moment how every program, school, or college is like an individual castle. Development teams invite people to leave their castles, even for just a brief period of time. Development teams are a neutral space to create together. When development team members go back to their castles they have news and new experiences to share with their castle colleagues.

Over the last four years we have worked with development teams. Consistently the teams are productive, innovative, and an enjoyable experience for all team members. By carefully designing projects, thoughtfully and respectfully engaging faculty, staff, learner colleagues and instructors, setting clear project parameters, and adhering to the timelines initially outlined we have had consistently productive and positive development teams. A productive team–a development team–is not a surprise experience, not a one-of, not luck, and certainly not a unicorn.

In Post #2 of The Unicorn Series, we outline the practices, processes, and principles we use for consistently productive and positive development teams–the how–so you can start your own herd. 😉 In Post #3, we share more on what development teams have built together–so far. 🎉

For more information on development teams, please contact sheryl.mills@usask.ca.

^[1] When individuals do not have the time to commit to being on a development team but they are interested in the goal, we suggest they participate as second-set-of-eyes. Members on this team have a flexible commitment.

^[2] We currently have eight health science programs at the University of Saskatchewan and have been using development teams for the past four years for developing interprofessional education and common topics modules.

^[3] This ensures that all members on the team are well-suited to the task, share an interest in the project, and can commit to seeing the project through to completion.

^[4] So what about “intellectual property”? Development team members are listed as contributors to the work that is done.

^[5] By using a development team approach we have, over the last four years, significantly rebuilt IPE events as well as built and launched two 10-hour common topic modules successfully. For example, it took less than one calendar year to move from a blank google doc to 400 learners from five programs successfully completing the 10-hour module on Professionalism.

^[6]  In between synchronous meeting times, USask Health Sciences team members do the “on the desk” work needed to move initiatives forward– by taking ideas from the fruitful conversations of the synchronous meetings, creating working documents, communicating with team members, etc. This is work squarely ON our desks, rather than work off the side of our desks. This is part of our role on the team and is how projects move quickly from idea to implementation without loss of quality. In fact, teams consistently tell us that what we have built together is better than they could have imagined or could have done individually.

^[7] We are the USask Health Sciences academic team and we are speaking from our experiences coordinating and working, as team members, on development teams.

^[8] By using living shared documents that are regularly updated and by finding new ways of sharing the work done by teams, we are able to have a growing repository of great ideas. By keeping documents online, everyone always has the most recent version of the work that has been done.

^[9] “Topics” are identified by the deans and associate deans, academic in the health sciences.