Start with a team charter
MBA teams are diverse by design: different industries, countries, work styles and schedules. That diversity makes better work only if you agree how to work together. Spend your first meeting writing a one-page charter. It is far easier to refer to an agreement than to create one in the middle of a conflict.
| Charter element | Questions to settle | Example agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | What grade and learning do we want? | Aim for a high pass; everyone presents once |
| Roles | Who leads, who tracks, who integrates? | Rotating project lead each assignment; one person owns the final edit |
| Meetings | When, how long, where? | Tuesdays 7:00 pm online, 45 minutes, agenda sent 24 hours before |
| Communication | Which tools, response times? | One chat channel; reply within 24 hours; urgent issues by phone |
| Decisions | How do we decide? | Try consensus; if stuck, majority vote after 10 minutes |
| Standards | Quality and deadlines | Drafts due two days before the deadline; sources cited as we go |
| Problems | What if someone is not delivering? | Raise it with the person within 48 hours; then involve the instructor |
Divide the work without creating silos
Splitting a paper into sections is easy and risky: the result reads like five papers stapled together. Divide work by analysis but integrate by argument. Agree on the storyline and the key message before anyone writes.
| Approach | Benefit | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Divide by section | Fast | Inconsistent voice and logic |
| Divide by analysis, then write together | Strong argument | Needs more meetings |
| Pair up on difficult parts | Quality and cover | More coordination |
Use a shared outline with owners and deadlines, a single shared document with version history and a style sheet for terms, referencing and formatting. Assign one editor for the final read to unify tone and check numbers.
Run short, useful meetings
- Agenda in advance Three to five items with the decision needed on each.
- Start with progress What is done, what is blocked.
- End with actions Owner, task and date for every action, recorded in a shared tracker.
- Rotate the chair So that no one dominates and everyone practices facilitation.
- Include quiet voices Ask each person for input on the main issues before deciding.
Edmondson's research on psychological safety shows that teams perform better when members feel safe raising concerns and admitting mistakes. Encourage this directly: ask what are we missing, and thank people for challenges.
Handling conflict and free riders
Disagreement about ideas is healthy; conflict about people is not. Address problems early and specifically.
| Problem | Early response | If it continues |
|---|---|---|
| Missed deadlines | Ask what is blocking the work; adjust the task or offer help | Reassign the task and record the issue; raise with the instructor |
| Dominant member | Use rotating chair and structured rounds | Agree explicit ground rules |
| Quiet member | Assign a clear task and ask directly for input | Check whether the issue is time, language or confidence |
| Quality gap | Pair people and agree a standard with examples | Peer review before submission |
| Personality clash | Focus on behavior and impact, not character | Ask a neutral third person to facilitate |
Use the situation, behavior, impact format for feedback: In Tuesday's meeting (situation) you interrupted twice (behavior), and Ana stopped contributing (impact). Document concerns with dates, because instructors need evidence if they must step in.
Peer evaluation and how marks are adjusted
Many courses adjust individual marks using peer ratings. A common method multiplies the group mark by an individual factor: the member's average rating divided by the team's average rating.
Peer adjustment (hypothetical)
Group mark 80. Ratings out of 5 given by teammates: Ana 4.4, Ben 4.0, Chen 3.6, Dara 4.0. Team average = (4.4 + 4.0 + 3.6 + 4.0) / 4 = 4.0.
| Member | Average rating | Factor (rating / 4.0) | Adjusted mark (80 x factor) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ana | 4.4 | 1.10 | 88 |
| Ben | 4.0 | 1.00 | 80 |
| Chen | 3.6 | 0.90 | 72 |
| Dara | 4.0 | 1.00 | 80 |
Many instructors cap the factor, for example at 1.0 or 1.1. Rate honestly using the criteria (contribution, reliability, quality, teamwork) and write comments with specific examples. Retaliatory or inflated ratings are easy for instructors to spot.
Working across time zones
Many MBA teams are spread across cities and countries. Before you plan meetings, check the real overlap of working hours.
Three members (hypothetical)
Everyone works 9:00 to 17:00 local time. Ana is at UTC-5, Ben at UTC+1 and Chen at UTC+8. In UTC, Ana is available 14:00 to 22:00, Ben 08:00 to 16:00 and Chen 01:00 to 09:00.
| Pair | Overlap (UTC) | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Ana and Ben | 14:00 to 16:00 | 2 hours |
| Ben and Chen | 08:00 to 09:00 | 1 hour |
| Ana and Chen | None | 0 hours |
| All three | None | 0 hours |
With no common hour, the team must choose: rotate the burden of an early or late meeting, record decisions in writing, or use asynchronous work with short handoffs. Put this in the charter so no one is surprised and no one always bears the inconvenient time.
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Get an instant quoteA simple contribution log
A weekly log protects everyone if a dispute arises and makes peer ratings fairer, because they are based on evidence and not on memory.
| Week | Member | Task completed | Evidence | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Ana | Market sizing model | File v2 in shared folder | 6 |
| 3 | Ben | Competitor table | Pages 4 to 6 of draft | 5 |
| 3 | Chen | Interview notes (4 calls) | Notes in team folder | 7 |
| 3 | Dara | Slide template and edit | Template shared Tuesday | 4 |
Keep it light: five minutes at the end of each meeting. Hours are a rough guide, not a measure of quality, so also note what was delivered.
A script for the hard conversation
Using situation, behavior and impact (hypothetical)
"Ben, I want to talk about the market section. On Thursday the draft was due and it came in Saturday night (situation). That meant Dara had one day to edit and we had no time to check the numbers (impact). Can you tell me what got in the way, and what would help us hit the next date?"
The script names a date, a fact and a consequence, then asks a question. It avoids character words such as lazy or careless, which provoke defense. Agree a specific next step and follow up in writing.
A meeting agenda template
| Item | Minutes | Decision or output |
|---|---|---|
| Progress and blockers | 10 | Status of each task; what is blocked |
| Main topic for this meeting | 20 | One decision, such as the storyline or the model assumptions |
| Risks and dependencies | 5 | Anything that threatens the next deadline |
| Actions | 5 | Owner, task and date for each; recorded in the tracker |
Forty minutes is enough for most weekly meetings. Send the agenda and any pre-reading a day earlier.
Making decisions in a diverse team
- Separate generating from judging Collect ideas first, then evaluate against criteria agreed in advance.
- Use a simple scoring grid for big choices Topic, model, scope: score options on criteria and discuss gaps.
- Hear the quiet members first Ask for written input before open discussion.
- Record decisions and reasons Prevents relitigating each week.
- Agree how to disagree Challenge ideas, not people; commit once decided.
Finish strongly
- Integrate early Do a full read-through at least three days before the deadline.
- Check for one voice Terms, tense and level of formality should match.
- Verify every number Trace each figure back to its source.
- Rehearse the presentation At least once end-to-end with timing.
- Reflect Hold a short retrospective: what worked, what to change next time. It also gives you material for a reflection paper.
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