Simply Sweet Strategies for Team Transformation

June 6, 2025

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The March and April posts of this blog pulled some highlights from my most recent book (available on Amazon and Solution Tree) and laid the foundation for who the team leader has to be as a person and leader in order to be effective in transforming collaboration. Then in May I shared what I affectionately call three “Magic Moves” that are just that: they seem to work like magic in transforming team functioning. These are actions that the teacher team leader takes, and others on the team may or may not even notice that they are being used.

Let us now turn to some simply sweet strategies that the team takes, together, to transform collaboration. Of course, the book goes into great detail and provides descriptions, tools, reflective questions, and next steps on the moves, techniques, and strategies for transforming collaboration in a PLC at Work®. And you can find about 50 free reproducibles available both on the Solution Tree website and my own (as googledocs): tinyurl.com/ttlhChad.

For our purposes here, I have highlighted just a few that I have found to be the absolute most impactful in my work with teams. I affectionately refer to these as seven “Sweet Strategies.”

Simply Sweet Strategies

The seven simply “Sweet Strategies” that you will want to be sure to have as a regular practice in leading your team are:

Norms
Outcomes
Agendas
Inclusion
Protocols
Celebrations
Who will do What by When

While some of these may be already familiar to you, let’s take a brief look at each.

Norms

First: I love how Bill Ferriter (2020) states that norms are an expression of the needs of team members. Collectively and collaboratively establish them. Collaboratively monitor them. Hold each other accountable to them. And celebrate adherence to them.

Outcomes

Second: Outcomes establish the purpose of your meeting(s). What needs to be accomplished and how will that happen? Have clear outcomes–and be sure that these outcomes will serve the larger purpose of the team: that of ensuring all students are learning at grade level or higher.

Agendas

Third: Agendas are a roadmap for the work of the team. But any old agenda won’t do. The agenda must be focused on actions that will accomplish the identified outcomes leading to student attainment of essential learning. And in a PLC at Work®, those outcomes revolve around the four Critical Questions and must involve either learning or deciding as a team. Don’t use informing outcomes that are the basis of managerial tasks.

Inclusion

Fourth: If you didn’t already know it, let me break it to you: people don’t care about your meeting. They are thinking about the email they just read, or the interaction they just had with a child, or the phone call they need to make, or any of a thousand other things other than your meeting. So use an Inclusion (Garmston and Wellman, 2016) to 1) focus the mental energy of each person in the room, 2) get everyone’s voice in the room, and 3) start to build community as members connect with each other and the content. And please note that an Inclusion is very different from an icebreaker. Icebreakers tend to tick off half the people in the room.

Protocols

Fifth: Protocols provide guardrails to assist with ensuring equity of turn-taking (key for psychological safety!) and are therefore equal-opportunity-challengers. For most people, regardless of whether they speak up too much or too little, it will be a challenge to follow them. Be sure that you and your colleagues understand that the constraint of a protocol helps team members to exercise restraint in the conversation.

Celebration

Sixth: Recognizing small efforts and changes is critical to not only our own social-emotional wellbeing, but to building momentum for future growth and development (Johnson, 2022). So find ways to celebrate both efforts made and the results of those efforts.

Who will do What by When

Finally, the purpose of a meeting isn’t just to meet, but to take action. At the conclusion of the meeting, everyone needs to be clear about next steps, so simply identify “WHO will do WHAT by WHEN” (Garmston and Wellman, 2016).

Summary

We know that becoming a Professional Learning Community is both challenging and rewarding–both for the adults and ultimately for the students we serve. The role of the team is critical to this process (Kramer, 2019), as is the team leader. In addition to the considerations of your internal state addressed in previous posts, a few simple, go-to strategies will ensure that it all comes together for the improvement of professional practice and results for students.

Reflective Questions

Which of the seven sweet strategies does your team already use?
Which ones might you need to start and/or refine?
When might you start this?

Rib Review

I actually had a bunch of ribs in May, but let me share the most recent, because it was the best. I actually had it twice in the same week, and after the first time I declared Mulberry BBQ in Lincoln, Nebraska the best ribs I’ve ever had. They were tender, smoky, and flavorful. I didn’t even think about getting sauce to put on ‘em. Unfortunately, while they were still good, the second time they didn’t live up to that inaugural experience. I guess I’ll have to give ‘em a try again to see which version is typical.