3946 does this at several levels, including "full team", "team leadership (students and mentors)", and "mentors". I got a tumble that there was also a "student leaders" calibration last year (sometimes the best way to teach is to set an example, no?). The leader group meetings (that I am part of, in any case) are more heavily weighted on processes and the full team is heavier on techniques, but everything is fair game across the board.
I usually kick off the process with a "lessons learned ramble" on e-mail (or this year slack) in which I just try to identify points before I lose track of them. The main meetings are usually 1-3 weeks after our season ends, but the tweaking and tuning of this stuff runs for months and eventually becomes part of our team DNA.
We've decided to not plan quite so much robot building this summer, but we are working on a team handbook, sprucing up our workshop, and tweaking our air cannon and 2016 robot in preparation for our first off-season event in the fall (Redstick Rumble). Our meeting this Monday focused on core values. Several mentors talked in general about what core values are, then we had the students work in groups of four to six members to come up with a list of up to 5 core values for the team. As expected, there were commonalities and differences among the groups. We were only a few minutes into trying to deconflict the suggestions when Tiffany (
Opalstone) pulled it all together elegantly with keywords that spell "TIGER". I expanded the definitions a bit, and we have as a working version:
- TEAMWORK – Through common goals, trust, caring, and effective communications, Tiger Robotics works together on the field, in the workshop, and in the world to meet challenges together.
- INITIATIVE – Every team member shall act with persistence and energy and responsibility to find ways to get things done. Every member assumes leadership in accordance with their experience and ability. If you want the job, do the job.
- GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM – We build each other up, including our competition. Compete with grace, succeed with grace, fail with grace: always learning, always teaching, always inspiring.
- EXCELLENCE – Through continued growth in our technical and leadership abilities and the pursuit of perfection, we achieve excellence.
- RUN BY STUDENTS – Student team members not only do the tiger’s share of the work, but assume the tiger’s share of the decision making and responsibility for team performance.
Don't be surprised if some form of T I G E R enter the five empty teeth of our sprocket logo in the next year or so.