What is Team Development and its 5 Stages Explained

Team development strives to meet these criteria with ongoing reflection and growth. Like any form of development, it takes time and dedication to be effective. In other words, a team doesn’t develop from start to finish overnight. Regardless of the tools used for team development, the process must be maintained through long-term awareness.

People begin sharing ideas and differing opinions come to light, which can result in clashes. Another way to start your project off on the right foot is to use a project management system, like Project.co. If your team is all in one place, then a face-to-face kick off meeting is a great way to get things moving. If your team is spread out, you can still have a very successful kick off meeting with video conferencing.

• Regardless of the length or success of a project, each team deserves a hearty affirmation of its concerted efforts.
• Encouraging the notion that feedback should be given after every meeting makes it easier for team members to air their views.
• These five stages advance as a team works together, but especially when a team brings awareness to their dynamic.
• It’s almost like being Captain America to The Avengers or Steve Jobs to Apple.
• Team members thrive when handling individual and collective tasks since each individual’s skills are fully optimized.
• They need to setup an effective process to resolve conflicts that will arise during this stage.

However, they may also be uncertain about their role in the team and what is expected of them. Team members start to develop trust and respect for each other, and they start working together as a unit. This is a productive stage, as the team is now able to start tackling tasks and achieving goals.

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Team effectiveness is enhanced by a team’s commitment to reflection and on-going evaluation. In addition to evaluating accomplishments in terms of meeting specific goals, for teams to be high-performing it is essential for them to understand their development as a team. During this stage, conflicts start to resolve, team members appreciate each other’s strengths, and respect for authority grows. Team members are also less dependent on the team leader to provide direction and make decisions—they start working together and helping each other to achieve the team’s goals.

During the first meeting, team members also learn their roles and what’s expected of them as they work towards attaining the shared goal. Ground rules that will govern the team get outlined at the forming stage. Team leaders need to facilitate introductions and highlight each member’s background and skills.

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In the first stage of forming, this newly chartered group of people meets and gets to know each other. Building strong teams is important because it fosters a healthy environment, where team members feel involved in how work gets done and valued as a member of the team. If group members are able to evolve to stage four, their capacity, range, and depth of personal relations expand to true interdependence. In this stage, people can work independently, in subgroups, or as a total unit with equal competencies. The major drawback of the norming stage is that members may begin to fear the inevitable future breakup of the team; they may resist change of any sort. Remember that no matter what, problems and conflict can still emerge, but they’re handled and dealt with in a constructive and honest manner.

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Alternatively, some team members may find focussing on the task at hand is an effective response to their sadness or sense of loss. The most commonly used framework for a team’s stages of development was developed in the mid-1960s by Bruce W. Tuckman. In 1975, Bruce Tuckman added a fifth stage to his Forming Storming Norming Performing model. This stage occurs when the original task of the group is completed and everyone can move on to new goals.

stages of team development

This is especially important for virtual teams where people hardly ever see each other’s faces and may be even located in various time zones. Discuss the project goals and timeline, both for the team as a whole and for each member. Track the time you spend on individual tasks, to build daily and weekly reports of the time you spend on the project. You can then further analyze your reports to see how much time you need to finish individual project tasks and whether there is room for improvement in that time.

Respecting each other’s opinions and valuing the differences. There may be a clash of personalities and disagreements on various issues. They may become suspicious of each other and critical of each other’s (and the team lead’s) working styles. Everything you need to know about the 4-day workweek concept A 4-day workweek offers better employee productivity and engagement. Learn more about its pros and cons, and countries that adopted it….

Group development

Arrange at least 1 team-building activity, to help people grow closer as a team. Coach all team members to be assertive, and stand up for their ideas and opinions in a positive and calm way. Now, if the team members have grown close over time, and grown accustomed to working with each other, they may mourn the fact that it’s now time to move on and work with other people. The project is completed, with most or all project goals reached. In order to understand how and when each of them spends time working in the garden, they track their time. They feel proud when they see that they each spend about 4 hours a week on gardening, as that means a larger amount of vegetables will produce well.

Individuals also tend to work alone and are hesitant to collaborate, leaving a serious lack of teamwork and camaraderie. But no matter what the reason teams are formed, they go through four stages, according to a 1965 research paper by Bruce Tuckman of the Naval Medical Research Institute at Bethesda. Take the time to allow the team to normalize to get during which stage of team development back to the performing stage. This is when the team is at optimal performance and is able to accomplish tasks quickly because members flow through the process. Team leaders need to make sure that the stronger personalities don’t inadvertently dominate the team and its outcomes. All members should be actively participating before this stage is complete.

Team Building Stages: 5 Steps

The emphasis is on wrapping up final tasks and documenting the effort and results. As the work load is diminished, individual members may be reassigned to other teams, and the team disbands. There may be regret as the team ends, so a ceremonial acknowledgement of the work and success of the team can be helpful.

However, even teams built for permanent projects can still undergo the adjourning process due to restructuring and re-allocation. The stage can cause uncertainty, especially among team members who are unsure about their subsequent roles. Thus, leaders should be supportive and help members transition smoothly into the new roles. As the real work starts during the storming stage, interpersonal and technical challenges will appear.

At this stage, the members are not yet used to each other and thus continue to behave independently. Additionally, the role of a team leader is crucial at this stage because the roles and responsibilities of the members are still not quite clear. Therefore, it is important for you as a lead to have 1 on 1 meetings with each member at the forming stage.

Forming stage

Delegate tasks appropriately, and according to the skills, experience, and interests of individual team members. They get together once or twice a week to discuss their progress with the garden and chat about their lives. They’ve grown much closer since the day when they first decided to start the gardening project, and not a day goes by without at least two of them meeting.

After the internal conflicts have been resolved, the team members begin to exhibit a sense of cohesion and are more comfortable with one another. They begin sharing their ideas and giving feedback to one another, increasing the group’s overall creativity. Simplilearn is a cutting-edge workplace training service that provides just that. At Simplilearn, our corporate training in emerging technologies is transforming our economy with valuable skills that last. Our blended learning approach drives learner engagement and the industry’s highest completion rates. Maintaining an effective team is much like maintaining a garden; if left unattended, it loses its ability to thrive.

Nonetheless, the conflicts can’t spiral into dysfunction because the team has gelled. Members have a more profound commitment to each other and the project’s completion, so it’s easier to handle conflicts. A team comprises individuals brought together to fulfill a common goal.

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In the performing stage, there’s a sense of focus, purpose, and alignment from everyone on the team, no matter their role. In the performing stage, consensus and cooperation have been well-established and the team is mature, organized, and well-functioning. There is a clear and stable structure, and members are committed to the team’s mission. Problems and conflicts still emerge, but they are dealt with constructively. The team is focused on problem solving and meeting team goals.