Team Norms Worksheet: Editable Template and Examples

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Available as PDF or Word.

TL;DR

Use this worksheet to record how your team wants to work: the situation, agreed behavior, owner, and review date. Start with a few norms that address real friction and test them in everyday work.

Download and use the team norms worksheet

Choose Word in the form above for an editable document, or PDF for a reference copy. Add your team's name and the work situations you want to improve. The how to create team norms playbook explains how to lead the conversation; this worksheet helps you capture the agreements.

For a broader set of options before choosing your own, read the team norms examples. Use the team agreement template if you also want to document roles and shared commitments.

Filled-in team norms examples

Adapt these example agreements, triggers, and review periods to the work you actually do.

Scroll horizontally to compare all columns. You can also focus the table and use the left and right arrow keys.

Example entries for a team norms worksheet
Situation	Agreed behavior	Owner and review
An important decision is made in a meeting.	The decision owner records the choice, reason, next step, and conditions for reopening it in the project notes.	Decision owner; review the next three decisions in two weeks.
A task is ready to pass to another person.	The sender links the current brief, names the receiving owner, and lists unresolved questions before marking it ready.	Task owner; check the next four handoffs.
A topic needs input before a team meeting.	The facilitator shares the question and relevant context a day ahead. Everyone can contribute in writing before the discussion.	Meeting facilitator; review participation after three meetings.

Your rapid TeamDynamics · two minutes

What makes your team tick?

Start with how your meetings work. Answer 12 quick questions for a first look at how your team communicates, makes decisions, and gets things done.

When we have team meetings…

Agendas are clearly defined Discussions are free-flowing

Question 1 of 12 · Choose an answer to start

Use TeamDynamics to choose which norms matter

The TeamDynamics team profile describes shared patterns across Communicating, Processing, Deciding, and Executing. Look for a pattern that affects a current task, then ask for examples. An Informal communication pattern might make quick exchanges easy while leaving decisions hard to find; an Ordered pattern might help clarity while adding work to a routine update. Discuss the trade-off with the team.

Use the result as a starting point. Ask what the current habit helps, where it creates friction, and what people want to try. Personal preferences separately inform private CoDynamics; they are not a substitute for agreeing a team norm.

Fill in the worksheet together

Describe a recent situation. Name the work and the effect of the current habit.
Choose a trigger. State when the norm applies: before a handoff, after a decision, or when a deadline is at risk.
Write an observable behavior. A colleague should be able to tell whether it happened.
Assign responsibility. Name who maintains the agreement and where it is recorded.
Set a review. Choose a date or a small number of work examples to examine.

A copyable working-agreement sentence

When [situation], we will [observable action] so that [work benefit]. [Owner] will maintain the agreement in [location]. We will review [examples or evidence] on [date] and adjust it together.

Review the norm in real work

Start with two or three useful agreements rather than a long rulebook. At the review, ask whether people could use each norm, whether it helped, and what needs to change. Update the worksheet when the team's work or membership changes. The goal is an agreement the team uses, not a completed document that disappears after the workshop.

Put this into practice

Use a practical playbook to turn this guidance into a team conversation and a clear next step.

Frequently asked questions

Questions, answered.

Is the worksheet editable?

Yes. Select Word in the request form for an editable document. A PDF version is also available.

What belongs in a team norms worksheet?

Record a work situation, the agreed behavior, who owns the agreement, where it lives, and when the team will review it.

How many norms should we start with?

Start with two or three that address recurring situations. Add more when the team can use and maintain them.

Can we copy the examples?

Yes. Adapt them to your work and agree them with the team rather than imposing the examples unchanged.

How does TeamDynamics help?

The team profile gives a shared language for discussing working patterns and choosing which agreements would help. Use real examples to decide what to change.

Are team norms the same as values?

Values describe what matters. Norms describe observable actions in recurring situations. A norm can show how a value should appear in daily work.

When should we review our norms?

Choose a review date or a small set of work examples when you agree each norm. Revisit them when the work or team changes.

Where can I learn to facilitate the discussion?

Use the team norms playbook for a practical process and prompts.