Stages of Team Development SPCH 1311: Introduction to Speech Communication

It is a period marked by conflict and competition as individual personalities emerge. Team performance may actually decrease in this stage because energy is put into unproductive activities. Members may disagree on team goals, and subgroups and cliques may form around strong personalities or areas of agreement. To get through this stage, members must work to overcome obstacles, to accept individual differences, and to work through conflicting ideas on team tasks and goals. Failure to address conflicts may result in long-term problems. This is why it is important to understand the fact that teams develop and mature over a period of time.

When you all work in the same location, it can be easier to hash out problems quickly. On a remote team, you need to be more thoughtful about the tools and the processes that you use to identify and deal with disagreements. Not every team moves through these stages in order and various activities such as adding a new team member can send the team back to an earlier stage. The length of time necessary for progressing through these stages depends on the experience of the members, the knowledge and skill of the team members, and the support the team receives. Because storming can be contentious, members who are averse to conflict will find it unpleasant or even painful. Patience and consideration toward team members and their views go a long way toward avoiding this.

Strength and Honor: Essential Team Values (Part

They simplify the sequence and group the forming-storming-norming stages together as the “transforming” phase, which they equate with the initial performance level. This is then followed by a “performing” phase that leads to a new performance level which they call the “reforming” phase. The team members are now competent, autonomous and able to handle the decision-making process without supervision. Dissent is expected and allowed as long as it is channelled through means acceptable to the team.

• Your contribution becomes more focused on your specialized knowledge and expertise than your ability to hold the team together.
• Before committing to a tool, give your team some time to work with it and test it out to make sure it fits their needs.
• This Performing stage is exactly the “peaking” that coaches are trying to achieve – when the team is jelling and working as a well-oiled machine.
• According to group development theory, team dynamics play a big part in pushing people past average and into exceptional success.
• When you know how long a process takes, you can identify areas that could be made more efficient.

Performing is the stage we all want to live and work in, but understanding, acknowledging and appreciating the importance of all the stages is the key to getting there. Many times I have been introduced to teams stuck in the Forming or Storming stages. These people are frustrated and weary, but as soon as they realize that the stage they’re in is natural and expected, they are able to navigate their way out and into the next stage. Although norming is a calm stage of team development, there are still things that you can and should do to help things run more smoothly. A good way to get any project started is with a kick off meeting.

You will still raise issues, ask questions, and challenge approaches, but more to validate the team’s conclusion than to drive it. Leadership belongs to everyone on the team, and the team owns its results. Seek first to understand and encourage everyone on the team to take the same approach. Act as a sounding board and allow any hidden agendas to surface. Provide information and suggest alternative solutions to roadblocks. It’s important to demonstrate the skills you want the team to develop.

Communication in the Workplace Crossed wires and missed connections – good communication among teams is tablestakes for effective teamwork. This final stage is also sometimes referred to as “mourning”. At the end of the project, the team will begin to wrap up their tasks and start to disband and move onto other projects. This period of norming also creates a safer space for people to share work and give feedback. This is because, after storming, everyone is now working together more happily towards the overall project goal.

Stage 1: Forming (Getting to Know Each Other)

(Sadly, not a perfect rhyme.) Once a project ends, the team disbands. This phase is sometimes known as mourning because members have grown close and feel a loss now that the experience is over. Crossed wires and missed connections – good communication among teams is tablestakes for effective teamwork. Get best practices and sound advice on how to create understanding and work together better.

This is the second stage of team development, where the group starts to sort itself out and gain each others’ trust. This stage often starts when they voice their opinions; conflict may arise between team members as power and status are assigned. At this stage there is often a positive and polite atmosphere, people are pleasant to each other, and they may have feelings of excitement, eagerness and positiveness. The leader of the team will then describe the tasks to the group, describe the different behaviours to the group and how to deal and handle complaints. In Tuckman’s 1965 paper, only 50% of the studies identified a stage of intragroup conflict, and some of the remaining studies jumped directly from stage 1 to stage 3. Some groups may avoid the phase altogether, but for those who do not, the duration, intensity and destructiveness of the “storms” can be varied.

Performing

While the group continues to perform productively they also need time to manage their feelings of termination and transition. Any insights should be shared in a public forum so everyone in the company can learn. Choose a project management software that lets you plan the entire project and assign deadlines and responsibilities so everyone can see what tasks need to be accomplished.

They can delegate more responsibilities to the team and focus on more strategic work. At the Storming Stage, managers should ensure the team members agree on the team norms and keep following them. They need to help them find a way to work together and support struggling team members. Finally, they should ensure the team can resolve internal conflicts and disagreements. The final stage, adjourning, involves the termination of task behaviors and disengagement from relationships.

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For example, if a new member joins the team, there may be a second brief period of formation while that person is integrated. A team may also need to return to an earlier stage if its performance declines. Team-building exercises are often done to help a team through its development process. Keep reminding the team to check in with each other regularly in person or via instant chat, but stay out of their way.

How to make forming run smoothly

When a new team forms, its members are unsure about its purpose and goals. The team managers must address that and focus on clarifying the team’s purpose and bringing every team member on the same page. At the end of the project, set up an online meeting where team members come together to discuss the entire project, from the successes to the frustrations.

For teams who can problem solve and find a way to complement each other, the smooth road of understanding and acceptance of the team dynamic is what’s around the corner. Interpersonal pain points are all kinds of awkward but they are not the norm. That comes next, if teams are able to communicate productively and find a way to work together. Fair warning to team members who don’t like conflict—things will get awkward. But if teams can’t identify the issues, communicate constructively, and work to resolve them, they will get stuck at this stage.

The Four Stages of Teamwork Observation Check List (√) was designed to help you be aware of the challenges the team will encounter. Furthermore, team members may encounter unexpected difficulties, feel lost and overwhelmed, and disillusioned and disappointed with their new team. Managers need to support each team member and ensure they can contribute and their peers are not blocking them. Frequent 1–1s allow managers to help their team members cope with issues and find a place in the team. If group members are able to evolve to stage four, their capacity, range, and depth of personal relations expand to true interdependence.

Storming Stage

Clarity as to what success looks like at each milestone will give your team a much-needed confidence boost. The second stage of team development is usually the most tumultuous, hence the name. But don’t panic, not all teams go through this period of storming. These 5 stages of team development are still relevant today – perhaps now more than ever as more businesses work remotely.

When conflicts are resolved, it can improve existing processes and bond members together. If everyone in your group thinks and acts the same, then why do you have a group? The benefit of working in a team is that you have access to diverse experiences, skills, and opinions that aren’t possible alone.

Each one consists of different behaviors which are driven by the team members’ needs. Understanding these needs and behaviors are essential in guiding the team to success. Behaviors during the Norming stage may include members making a conscious effort to resolve problems and achieve group harmony. There might be more frequent and more meaningful communication among team members, and an increased willingness to share ideas or ask teammates for help. Team members refocus on established team groundrules and practices and return their focus to the team’s tasks. Teams may begin to develop their own language or inside jokes.

Signs and questions to look out for in the performing stage

As you might expect, leaders play an important part in establishing productive norms by acting as role models and by rewarding desired behaviors. The adjourning or mourning stage of team development is where the group parts ways. The project has reached its natural end, and group members acknowledge that while the group has found success, it is time four stages of team development for the team to split and move on to new challenges. The mourning stage paves the way for more growth and learning and new opportunities. This final part of the team building process grants teammates closure and provides a chance to reflect on the experience. Teammates move beyond the introductory forming stage and start putting plans into action.

Navigating the “forming” stage

This is where you as a coach challenge their attitudes, work ethics and standards because you recognize that they are actually hurting the team. Your goal is to get them to recognize their behavior and how it runs counter to the goals that they have set. Then you need to encourage and help them establish more effective standards – or sometimes even impose more https://globalcloudteam.com/ effective standards. Download a spreadsheet with each of the characteristics you can observe at each stage of the forming, storming, norming and performing process. Being part of a high-performance team can be a rewarding experience for those on the team. But if the team does not reach the high performing stage it can be extremely frustrating for team members.

Discover Trello’s flexible features and integrations designed to help your team’s productivity skyrocket to new heights. This is to say that, even when things aren’t going smoothly, each person should assume that their “challenger” is coming from a good place and is trying to act in the best interest of the team. Each team member should also try to analyze their reason for inciting potential conflict from the other person’s point of view.