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Team charter template

Get your team off to a great start by defining focus and direction

Team charter

Use a team charter to outline the essential elements of your team's communication and define a set of concepts and skills that focus and guide your team. Invite your teammates to the example template and review together, then move into a blank charter and begin your journey to becoming a high-performing team.‍

A team charter serves as a guiding document for project management that outlines the purpose, goals, values, and expectations of a team. It provides a foundation for team members to align their efforts, establish a shared vision, and work towards achieving common objectives.

The team charter template helps teams:

  • Improve clarity and alignment with key stakeholders

  • Create a communication plan

  • Increase accountability and buy-in

  • Establish norms, success metrics, and quality standards

How to use the team charter template

Follow these steps to define your project team’s purpose and build a team charter. For each step, brainstorm with your team, consolidate the ideas, and refine the ideas by turning them into cohesive statements.

Step 1: List out team members and stakeholders

Have each team member add sticky notes with their name, two self-identified strengths, and two weaknesses to the first section of the template.

Step 2: Agree upon core values with the entire team

Brainstorm and discuss which shared values can help guide how you approach work and how the team members will collaborate with each other. 

Step 3: Define team norms

With the other team members, establish your ways of working and the ideals you’ll expect each other to abide by. This might include the desired format for common deliverables, recurring workflows, and outcomes.

Step 4: Determine necessary team roles

Based on the strengths, weaknesses, and skill sets of each team member, define what roles each person will assume, what their responsibilities are, and how everyone will collaborate with each other.

Step 5: Identify team success metrics

Consider how success can be measured beyond a letter grade or number score. Are there specific milestones along the way or desired outcomes the team is working towards?

Step 6: Outline quality standards

What are your expectations for high-quality work and outcomes? Think about the level of quality you deliver and expect from your teammates.

Step 7: Organize these ideas into a cohesive charter

Transfer your organized thoughts from the six sections and draft up a single, cohesive charter document for each member of the team to follow.

Tips for creating a team charter with your team

  • Regularly review and update: Treat the project team charter as a living document that evolves with the team's progress. Schedule regular reviews to assess the charter's effectiveness and make necessary updates to reflect any changes in goals, roles, or team dynamics.

  • Align with organizational goals: Ensure that the team charter aligns with the broader goals and objectives of the organization. This alignment helps reinforce the team's relevance and importance within the larger context of the organization.

  • Be clear and specific: Use clear and concise language when defining the team's purpose, goals, and expectations. Avoid ambiguity to minimize potential miscommunications and conflicts down the line.

Create effective team charters with the Mural platform

From agile project management to client engagements, the Mural platform has the features your teams need to solve complex problems, foster team-building, and collaborate in real-time. Create roadmaps, run brainstorming sessions, and conduct better team me
Sticky notes & text

Sticky notes & text

Add ideas, action items, and more as a sticky note or text box — then change the colors and cluster to identify patterns and new solutions.

Summon collaborators

Summon collaborators

Easily direct everyone’s attention to a specific part of the mural — no screen sharing required.

Mapping and diagramming

Mapping and diagramming

Build quick and easy visualizations of flows, maps, processes, hierarchies, journeys, and more.

Icons, GIFs, & images

Icons, GIFs, & images

Express complex ideas visually or lead an engaging team-building activity with Noun Project, GIPHY, and Unsplash integrations.

Celebrate & reactions

Celebrate & reactions

Celebrate wins together with a confetti drop, or give real-time feedback with reaction emojis.

Easy sharing

Easy sharing

There are no barriers to collaboration with the ability to safely and securely share murals with others.

Team charter template frequently asked questions

What should a team charter include?

Who is responsible for creating the team charter?

Why are team charters important?

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