Imagine you are the chair of a leadership team working on a new endeavor. The team is meeting for the first time, and you want to ensure that all members work together so the team is successful.

Here are what I believe are the statements that should guide the work of the team:

• "Starting today, and as long as we we're together, we're going to work on developing productive relationships that are characterized by trust, respect, concern, and honesty."
• "In everything we do, we're going to collaborate to capitalize on the great minds, experience, and talent in this team."
• "The first topic of our collaboration will be the development of a compelling statement of purpose that will drive all we do."
• "Once we have agreed on that purpose, we will be fiercely ambitious, focused, determined, and persistent in realizing that purpose."
• "As we work toward that purpose, our work will be characterized by the following practices:
  1. We will always be sure to ask the 'why' question.
  2. We will make sure the right questions get answered.
  3. We will develop effective processes for our work and we're going to trust those processes.
  4. We are going to pace change effectively so that we maintain momentum but do not overwhelm the people we lead.
  5. We will be out front in interpreting events, ideas, and data for those we lead."
• "In order to be successful in our work, we will constantly engage in learning, and we will be sure everyone in our organization can do the same."

Together, these statements represent a commitment to shared responsibility and leadership that sets the tone for productive meetings focused on a specific purpose that drives the work everyone is doing.

Charles Mason is past president of NSDC. This post was adapted from Mason's distinguished lecture at NSDC's 41st Annual Conference.