Stages of Team Development

 

 

(Mathew T, 2023)

 

A team is defined as a group of people who come together and perform independent tasks to achieve a common vision or objective. Some teams have a limited life, such as a design team developing a new product or a service or a continuous process improvement team established to solve a specific problem. Whereas some others are ongoing, such as a department team that meets periodically to review goals, activities, and performance. Regardless, teams are essential for an organization because they help maintain an enjoyable workplace, improve productivity and efficiency, increase accountability, and build strong employee relationships  (American Society for Quality, 2023).

According to Tuckman (1965), teams go through five stages during development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. The stages begin from the time the teams first meet until the teams dissolve, and each stage has its own feelings and behaviors (Stein, 2023).

 

                                       

(Quality Gurus, 2023)

 

Forming

This is the first stage of team development, where the teams first meet. It involves a period of getting oriented and acquainted. As a result, uncertainty is high during this stage, and the team is not very productive (Lumencandela, 2023). Team leaders should facilitate the introduction and emphasize each person's skills and background. They should also give the team members the project details and the opportunity to organize their roles and responsibilities (Scully, 2020). The main purpose of forming is to establish trust between team members and ensure they are on the same page with regard to the goals and vision (Quality Gurus, 2023).

 

Storming

This is the most critical and challenging stage in team development. The period is marked by conflicts and competition as individual personalities surface. As a result, team performance may reduce in this stage, and frustration and tension will be prevalent. Subgroups and cliques may also form around strong personalities and areas of agreement. To get through this stage, team members should learn to accept individual differences, work together to overcome obstacles, and talk through conflicting ideas. Failure to address conflicts and misunderstandings in this stage may lead to long-term issues (Lumencandela, 2023).

 

Norming

During the norming stage, conflicts and misunderstandings are resolved, and some degree of unity is established. Consensus also develops around who the leader or leaders are and the individual member's roles and responsibilities. Team performance during this stage begins to improve as team members learn to look past individual differences and focus on team goals and objectives. However, this harmony is precarious, and any slight disagreement or misunderstanding can throw the team back into the storming stage (Lumencandela, 2023)

 

Performing

The fourth stage of team development occurs when consensus and cooperation are well-established and the team is mature, organized, and well-functioning (Lumencandela, 2023). There is a high degree of cohesion and trust among members, and the team is functioning at peak efficiency with minimum oversight from team members. Issues and conflicts still come up, but the team has strong strategies to resolve them without compromising timelines and progress (Scully, 2020).

 

Adjourning

Most of the team's goals and objectives have been achieved during this stage of team development. The focus now will be to wrap up final tasks and document the effort and results. Team members will also be assigned to other projects as the workload is diminished and the team disbands. A ceremonial acknowledgment of success will be helpful at this stage as there may be regrets as the team ends. If the team is a standing committee with ongoing responsibilities, team members may be replaced by new people, and the team can go back to the forming and storming stage and repeat the development process (Lumencandela, 2023).

 

Conclusion

Every team goes through five stages of team development, and each stage has its own set of characteristics. Teams that make it to the norming and performing stages have done so because the members were willing to look beyond individual differences and trust each other. Performing teams also make efforts to assess the team's effectiveness and make decisions to improve it in the future.

 

References

American Society for Quality, 2023. What is a team?. [Online]
Available at: https://asq.org/quality-resources/teams#:~:text=Quality%20Glossary%20Definition%3A%20Team,common%20mission%20or%20specific%20objective.
[Accessed 30 April 2023].

Lumencandela, 2023. The five stages of team development. [Online]
Available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-principlesmanagement/chapter/reading-the-five-stages-of-team-development/
[Accessed 30 April 2023].

Quality Gurus, 2023. Five stages of team development. [Online]
Available at: https://www.qualitygurus.com/five-stages-of-team-development/#:~:text=Five%20Stages%20of%20Team%20Building,how%20teams%20develop%20and%20perform.
[Accessed 30 April 2023].

Scully, D., 2020. The 5 stages of team development. [Online]
Available at: https://www.teamwork.com/blog/the-5-stages-of-team-development-what-you-need-to-know/
[Accessed 30 April 2023].

Stein, J., 2023. Using the stages of team development. [Online]
Available at: https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development
[Accessed 30 April 2023].

Mathew T, P., 2023. "Team building" - a common and costly mistake. [Online]
Available at: https://focusu.com/blog/team-building-a-common-and-costly-misunderstanding/
[Accessed 30 April 2023].

Tuckman, B. W., 1965. Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological bulletin, 63(6), pp. 359-399.