Making Norms Come Alive in a Professional Learning Community

A familiar scenario

A collaborative team meeting in your professional learning community starts on time. Team members greet one another politely, laptops open, coffee in hand. The agenda is solid. The norms are posted neatly on the wall—Be present. Assume positive intent. Stay student-focused. Honor time.

Yet within fifteen minutes, side conversations begin. One participant checks email. Another dominates the discussion. The meeting runs long, and the team leaves with more frustration than clarity.

No one points to the norms. No one names what is happening. The norms remain visible—but unused.

For many school leaders, this scenario feels all too familiar. Norms are often established at the beginning of the year with thoughtful collaboration, but over time they fade into the background. When norms are treated as static agreements rather than living commitments, they lose their power to shape adult behavior and influence student learning.

Contemporary research on professional learning communities emphasizes that effective PLCs are not defined by structures alone, but by disciplined adult practices that promote collective responsibility and continuous improvement (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Many, & Mattos, 2021). Establishing norms is one of those essential practices—and these norms may need to change or evolve to meet the needs of the team.

Why norms matter in a professional learning community

Norms are not about compliance or control. They exist to create psychological safety in schools, clarity, and shared accountability. In high-functioning PLCs, trust and a willingness to engage in productive struggle are prerequisites for meaningful collaboration (DuFour et al., 2021). Norms provide the guardrails that make this work possible.

When norms are alive, teams feel safe to disagree respectfully, time is honored, voices are balanced, and difficult conversations remain focused on students rather than personalities. When norms are ignored, resentment builds quietly, meetings feel inefficient or performative, leaders shoulder accountability alone, and team members disengage.

Research on team effectiveness reinforces this connection. Edmondson (2018) demonstrates that clearly articulated norms and expectations strengthen collaboration, learning, and decision-making in complex professional environments such as schools. Norms, therefore, are not a one-time activity but a daily leadership practice.

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What are leadership practices to follow and how to set the norm

Leadership within a PLC is collective rather than positional. This means that responsibility for norms does not rest solely with the principal or facilitator, but is shared among all team members (DuFour et al., 2021).

Effective teams revisit their norms regularly by asking:

• Are these norms still serving our work?
• Are they observable and actionable?
• Do we feel permission to name when norms are not being honored?

Leaders set the tone by modeling vulnerability. Naming a missed norm—especially when the leader is the one who missed it—signals that norms are about growth rather than judgment. When norms truly matter, teams must be willing to talk about them when they are not being upheld.

Four helpful ways to make PLC norms stick

1. Designate a norm guardian (and rotate the role)

A norm guardian is a rotating team role rather than a compliance position. The purpose of this role is to gently name when norms are being honored or missed, highlight positive examples, and invite brief reflection at the end of meetings. Rotating the role reinforces shared ownership and collective responsibility, both of which are central to effective PLC cultures (DuFour et al., 2021).

2. Use emojis as a shared norm language 😊⏰👂

Using emojis as shorthand for norms offers a low-stakes, relational way to provide feedback. Emojis can be placed on agendas, used in chat features during virtual meetings, or shared as gentle cues during discussion. This approach lowers defensiveness and increases awareness, aligning with research on psychological safety that emphasizes feedback should feel supportive rather than punitive (Edmondson, 2018).

3. Start and end with norm reflection

Making norms come alive requires reflection, not enforcement. Opening and closing meetings with brief norm-focused questions reinforces the idea that norms are dynamic and context-dependent. Continuous improvement research highlights reflection as essential for sustaining collaborative learning and professional growth (DuFour et al., 2021).

4. Connect norms directly to student impact

Norms matter most when teams understand their connection to student learning. Leaders can make this explicit by asking how honoring norms improves instruction, collaboration, and decision-making. Research on educational change underscores that adult leadership behaviors directly influence the quality of professional learning and, ultimately, student outcomes (Harris & Jones, 2019).

Powerful questions for the instructional leadership team

• Which norms in your meetings are alive—and which are merely posted?
• How do you respond when norms are violated?
• What structures could distribute norm ownership more equitably?
• How might visible norms improve trust and efficiency?
• What message does your handling of norms send about your leadership values?

Leadership is not demonstrated by avoiding tension, but by navigating it with clarity and care.

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Strong PLC norms start with a clear purpose

Norms are not about perfection; they are about intentionality. When school leaders treat norms as living agreements—revisited, named, and refined—meetings shift from obligation to purpose. Teams move from polite compliance to authentic collaboration.

Learning by doing applies not only to students, but to adults. Norms give educators the structure to practice the professional behaviors we hope to model every day. When norms come alive, so does the work. 

References 

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Many, T., & Mattos, M. (2021). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work (4th ed.). Solution Tree Press.

Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.

Harris, A., & Jones, M. (2019). Teacher leadership and educational change. School Leadership & Management, 39(2), 123–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1574964