A mediator suggests that the nurse manager and staff members establish a group agreement before resolving conflicts. It is important to have agreements about how team members will work together because:

people are dishonest by nature and will not work well together without accountability.

without agreements, implicit permission is granted for people to behave in any manner they see fit.

agreements reinforce that though bickering and backbiting inevitably occur during meetings, they are never personal.

agreements serve to distinguish cooperative team members from nonproductive ones.