The 5 Stages of Team Development

In moving forward, the team members may realize responsibilities, processes, and/or structures need to be adjusted on the fly, especially in a startup. If the team is focused on their planned tasks, these changes should occur smoothly. However, some teams may not reach this level of interdependence and flexibility. If that is the case, the leader may need to step in to assist the team through these changes. However, generally, the leader is more involved with delegating and overseeing the process during this stage. Note that teams can lapse back into earlier stages when changes occur with personnel or the project itself.

Read on for my quick tips for getting your team started on the right foot , navigating those challenging waters , and enhancing your team’s “psychological safety” for full team synergy . Having worked with hundreds of teams over the past 25+ years and with a master’s in industrial/organizational psychology, I’m very familiar with Dr. Bruce Tuckman’s 4 Stages of Team Development. 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.

Norming Stage

Each team you are a part of is another chance to learn how you work with others and what kind of person you work best with. A good team leader will not only know each stage, but what exactly to facilitate for each stage so that they can reach the final stage quickly and with the best results. The hospital CEO asks Chris to create a team to address this issue. The goal is to increase staff participation in the hospital’s annual safety training program. While teams move through the four stages in sequence, the phases may overlap or be repeated.

Behaviour is a response to things that are happening and can be on two levels, internally – thoughts and feelings and/or externally – the environment, including other people. It is understanding why someone does what they do that is much more complicated . Your remote teams will go through the 5 stages of team development whether or not they have your guidance, but you can accelerate their progress when you know how to support them along the way. When you can identify which development phase your teams are in, it’s much easier to provide exactly the direction they need so they feel more focused and connected.

The Storming Stage

This is especially true in our current hybrid work environment – exacerbated by the turnover tsunami that is on the horizon. If you feel your team is stuck, share this information with them and ask them to self-diagnose where they think they are and what they need to do to move on to the next stage. Understanding that each stage is normal and expected can https://globalcloudteam.com/four-stages-of-team-development-what-you-need-to-know/ relieve a lot of tension and free the team up to break through and move on. Your role as a leader is different, but no less important through all four stages. Finally you are able to begin sharing responsibility with other team members. You are participating in the discussions instead of leading them all, and the team begins to solve problems jointly.

This is the stage when things begin to settle down as your team finds their groove. As they grow more comfortable working together, team members are more comfortable asking for help completing a task or getting constructive feedback. Your team starts to increase their productivity at this stage as they become more familiar with their teammates and their working styles.

The 4 Stages of Team Development

Their working styles and skills complement one another, and they rely on the each other to perform tasks more efficiently. When your team has grown through the stages of team development they establish a state of “flow”. This means they understand https://globalcloudteam.com/ how to work together in a cohesive way that helps them reach their goals. In the Performing stage, the team makes significant progress towards its goals. Commitment to the team’s mission is high and the competence of team members is also high.

Supervisors of the team during this phase are almost always participating. Even the most high-performing teams will revert to earlier stages in certain circumstances. Many long-standing teams go through these cycles many times as they react to changing circumstances. For example, a change in leadership may cause the team to revert to storming as the new people challenge the existing norms and dynamics of the team. Eric Douglas is the senior partner and founder of Leading Resources Inc., a consulting firm that focuses on developing high-performing organizations.

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During this stage, it’s important to write down goals and assignments to eliminate ambiguity. It’s also important to hold regular status checks, to assess progress, determine where people are stuck, provide help, and give regular effective feedback. For the leader, it’s equally important to ask for feedback and demonstrate openness to receiving it, acknowledging its value, and acting on it.

• These skills are usually developed in early childhood and refined through high school.
• In the earlier stages of your team’s formation, establish a clear communication plan.
• Everyone is celebrated and the team can build upon the success of the event.
• Managers should help the team consider everyone’s point of view and allow each member to contribute to relevant team discussions.
• FireFly Facilitation and start developing your high-performance team today.

Team members are asking such questions as “What does the team offer me? ” Most interactions are social as members get to know each other. Adjourning is the final stage that occurs when the team is about to disband. Team members shift their attention away from task orientation to a relationship focus (McShane et al., 2018, p. 233). During this last stage, the team feelings might be concerns and anxiety because of the uncertainty or future. During this stage some members lose focus and reduce productivity and they focus the tasks in three sections – completion of deliverables, evaluation and closing ( Stein, as cited in McShane et al., 2018).

Norming

Once norms are established and the team is functioning as a unit, it enters the performing stage. By now team members work together easily on interdependent tasks and are able to communicate and coordinate effectively. There are fewer time-consuming distractions based on interpersonal and group dynamics. For this reason, motivation is usually high and team members have confidence in their ability to attain goals.

We help our customers with a combination of our own deep industry experience and leading SAP technologies. 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. Here’s the thing, the line between certain stages can get blurred since team members evolve at different times. How they trust each other to remain accountable for their tasks without dropping the ball.

Scenario: You’re leading your team through the norming stage

Ask questions about the current team dynamics, critical business challenges facing the team in the coming months, and expectations for what needs to be accomplished during the next few team meetings. As a leader, it’s important to know where your team is and how you can help them move through to the next stage of development. Older, well-established teams can also cycle back through the stages as their circumstances change. Each team will spend most of its time in the “performing” stage, regardless of how long a project is.