TEAM DEVELOPMENT

Whether it's on the playing field or in the workplace, teams take time to come together. There is a natural development process that every team must progresses through.  As a team member, leader and facilitator the following steps have prepared me to work effectively with teams in the past:

• Members trying to define the task.

• Lofty, conceptual discussions as people try to express who they are.

• Discussions about what information needs to be gathered.

Manage:

Don't ignore the Storming stage. Acknowledge it with the team as a natural developmental step. Facilitators should surface the conflicts and address them. This is a good time to review ground rules, revisit the purpose and related administrative matters of the team.

• Ground rules and formal procedures that may have been overlooked in the beginning are now taken more seriously.
• The team will want to discuss items more; less time will be spent on idea generation, and more on decision making.
• Members will want to limit agenda items to focus on specific topics.
• Subgroups may be formed to move along faster.
• Conflicts are addressed and resolved.

Manage:

At this stage, the team has PROCESS down fairly well. TASK will take on new significance as the team will want to accomplish its purpose. Facilitators should keep this in mind and remind the team of the task. Also, facilitators should be more diligent in adhering to the road map, providing time for feedback, closure, etc.

•  Members begin to show their true styles.

• A growing impatience will surface over lack of progress.

• Members will get into one another's territory, causing irritation.

• General disagreement over process, task and overall purpose of the team.

Manage:

Don't ignore the Storming stage. Acknowledge it with the team as a natural developmental step. Facilitators should surface the conflicts and address them. This is a good time to review ground rules, revisit the purpose and related administrative matters of the team.

• Be productive! Tasks will be accomplished, and the team will look for more to do.
• Be pro-active, and not necessarily wait for direction from management.
• Demonstrate loyalty to the group, and respect individual dissension and disagreement.

Manage:

Teams at the performing level are generally self-regulating. Road maps, processes, decision making and other matters of team management will be handled independently by the team.

teams do not develop as neatly and sequentially as these stages may imply. Therefore, teams can cycle from one stage to another relatively quickly or get stuck in one stage easily. Moreover, some people may have the unpleasant experience of being on a team that disbanded because the team never progressed past the Storming stage. Moreover, a high performing team can get thrown back into the Storming phase by simply adding a new member or by management introducing a new organizational strategy.

In conclusion, the implications for project management when a project needs to begin quickly and perform at a high level in a short period of time are to facilitate the team steadily and quickly through the stages of Team Development.  The manager or facilitator must keep the team focused and on task.

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