TEAM DEVELOPMENT

Stages of Team Development

Team or Group Development is referred as the process of  assembling different members with different skills to build an effective team. In order to be effective, it's an important that team members can work together and collectively to gain for maximum contributions to the team's desired outcome.

Team development requires nurturing, intention, and inclusive leadership. It requires a level of self-awareness as a leader and from each team member to form a effective and productive team

There are skills or secret ingredients to make up effective and powerful team. Such as; Problem solving, Strong clear communication, Interpersonal skills, Time management, Listening, Ability to set goals, giving and receiving feedbacks, Project management, organizational skills, Growth mindset and Time alignment.

Bruce Tuckman was developed 5 stages of team development in 1960s.This will be helpful to prove useful, if not comprehensive. Stages of Team Development are as follows (WCUPA,2022).

Figure 1- Stages of Team Development

1.      Forming

Once the team has established, “forming” phase is occurred. In this phase team members get to know each other and their skills, backgrounds, and interests. The team should share the goals of the team, deadlines and the responsibilities of each team member.

2.      Storming

Storming is the phase where the team is facing challenges and conflicts. This is may the differences of team member’s personality or working styles. Leaders need to involve with the team at this moment and help them to overcome the challenges and conflicts. Not only that but also leaders should clarify the misunderstanding between the team members. Team need to get the experience and know how to absorb the differences and give the commitment to achieve team goals.

3.      Norming

This stage can be referred as the getting into groove. The team members are able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each other’s roles and become more comfortable working together. In this stage the team is likely to be socialized might become more comfortable with teammates asking for advice and feedback from others.

4.      Performing

Since the team is comfortable with each other, build strong relationships and have figured out the best work together. This can be defined as “peak performance” stage of team development. In this stage, teams are most productive and they’re working quickly towards team goals. This could be a great phase to introduce mentorship or coaching opportunities. With personalized support, it can see the team flourish and grow. 

5.      Adjourning

Adjourning is the last stage of team development. It also known as mourning phase. Once the team has been accomplished team goals, team members feel proud and excited. At the same time team members are developed with strong personal and working relationships over this period of time. Team members might feel sense of disappointment because they feel their experience is over. Adjourning phase could only be reached by an employee who has decided to leave the team for a new role or another employee might make the decision to leave the company altogether for different role or organization.

Nonetheless, it’s still important to recognize and appreciate the team’s work throughout all phases of any project.

                        Figure 2- Stages of Team Development with Team Effectiveness Vs Time

References

wcupa.(2022) TUCKMAN'S STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT. wcupa [Online].Available at: https://www.wcupa.edu/coral/tuckmanStagesGroupDelvelopment.aspx#:~:text=These%20stages%20are%20commonly%20known,more%20collaborative%20or%20shared%20leadership. (Accessed:27 November 2023)