• An agreement among the group members to work together to achieve both the individual goals and the group goals that have been developed and shared during the group experience.
• An agreement to adhere to certain safety and group behavior guidelines.  These guidelines must be discussed and agreed upon by the group or they will be meaningless.  This is an important part of the process for groups to engage in, for no longer are the “rules” coming from only the leaders in charge, but from one’s own peers.
• An agreement to give and receive honest feedback.  Each person agrees to be confronted when their behavior does not match the behavior they identified as a goal.  Similarly, each person agrees to confront others when their behavior does not match what they identified as goals.  The word “confront” used here has an intended meaning that one cares enough about self and others to communicate and provide feedback in a fashion that will be productive and facilitate growth.  Inherent in this process is:
  • the belief that every group member has value.
  • by virtue of having value every member has both a right and a responsibility to give and receive open and honest feedback. Withholding feedback or refusing feedback may be viewed as an example of devaluing one’s own self and/or others.
• An agreement to increase one’s own awareness to when we are devaluing or discounting ourselves or others; and to make a direct and conscious effort to confront and work toward changing this behavior.  Again, the use of appropriate confrontation is an essential ingredient in using the full value contract.  However, group members must learn how to confront self and others in an open and responsible manner.  Essentially, confrontation is a challenge to one’s own self or from another to look at one’s own behavior, or to look at the discrepancy between what one says and what one does, or to view the degree to which we are being honest with ourselves and with others.

“A consensus on what every person in our group needs from each other and commits to each other in order to feel safe, supported, open, productive and trusting… so that we can do our best work, achieve our common vision, and serve our [students/families/constituents] well.”