Study Report: Team Effectiveness

The first goal of stage three is to solidify positive relationships between members. The second goal is to engage in more mature negotiations about group roles and organizational procedures. Once the three are stages are worked through the n the fourth stage, Work (Wheelan, 2013), can be accomplished. Wheelan (2013) identifies the fourth stage as a time of intense team productivity and effectiveness. This is the stage that is the result of creating the effective team. Once the four stages have been identified and understood, Wheelan (2013) goes on to elaborate on how a group leader can keep the team effective. Wheelan (2013) speaks of 10 keys to productivity (goals, roles, interdependence, leadership, communication and feedback, [discussion, decision making and planning], implementation and evaluation, norms and individual differences, structure, cooperation and conflict management). Wheelan (2013) also shares the ways that group members become effective team members (don’t blame others, support the leader, promote effective problem-solving, etc…) as well as how a leader can be an effective team leader (be direct and confident, involve members in leadership, adjust your leadership style to the group, etc…). Finally, Wheelan (2013) highlights effective organizational support for teams, which includes an organization support checklist.

-Create an environment where team members can identify and solve problems on their own, delegating real power and responsibility - Demonstrate and articulate the values of the organization -Look for ways to use staff's interests and strengths in directly supporting people - Share decision making

The five stages of group/team development are: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. In the forming stage, the group members get aquainted with one another and figure out what the goals of the group are. In the storming stage, individual personalities within the group emerge and group members start to figure out what their roles will be. In the norming stage, the group begins to find unity and group members resolve their differences. In the performing stage, the group members solve problems and focus on completing their assigned task. In the adjourning stage, the group begins to disband and the members transition out and into other projects.

These goals and objectives change as the team grows in different stages, i.e. forming stage, storming stage, and norming stage. Each stage features its own reasoning, advantages, and disadvantages.

Wheelan (2013) identifies the four stages of team development and provides detailed explanation of how a group transforms itself from a stage one group of uncertainty into a successful, highly productive stage four team. This requires work and a thorough understanding of the many internal/external influences that can occur during each stage. A team member or leader who is well versed in these stages and who can evolve with each stage will be better equipped to deal with possible obstacles that can hinder group progress and implement practices to help the group successfully work through a

The features of effective team performance are set out in Brian Tuckman’s phases of team development theory, ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing.’ This outlines the phases that a team will go through in order to become effective and reach maturity. At the ‘Forming’ stage of team development individual roles and responsibilities are unclear and each member of the team is concerned to avoid conflict with each other. From this point the team will go through the ‘Storming’ phase which is when they start to conflict as individuals put forward ideas which will be challenged by others in a bid to gain power and position over others. After this the ‘Norming’ phase follows and it is at this point that individual roles are defined and accepted

An effective and productive team doesn't just happen. It requires structures, support and processes that encourage development. Team building happens over time. When building and developing a cohesive, effective and productive team you need to determine how your team fits and the roles they play in the organisation. Does anything need to be changed? How and when can these changes be put into action? Organisational, strategic and operational plans need to contain suitable mechanisms for supporting team development.

Tuckman (1965) proposed that when developing teams, groups proceed through four general stages of development, namely: Forming, storming, norming and performing.

1) Get to know your team members and their individual skills (what they do well and what they prefer to do when working in groups).

This stage is when the concept of Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing is introduced to the team.

In this paper, I will be explaining the four stages of teamwork. Each stage has its own way of showing the process of developing a team. The stages are, forming, storming, norming and performing. Throughout the paper I will be using examples from the movie “Remember the Titans” that was based off of a true story about a football team that started out segregated and came together by using the four stages to create the only football team that was mixed racially to win a championship. The first stage of building a team is forming.

Bruce Tuckman describes five stages of team development, forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjournment. Forming is as orientation period during which team members get to know each other and find

Managing a team means managing it through the ups and downs of the team process from beginning to end. The idea of different ‘stages’ of team development

Gina Abudi (n.d). The Five Stages of Team Development – Every Team Goes Through Them! (Part I). Retrieved July 24, 2012 from http://www.ginaabudi.com/the-five-stages-of-team-development-part-i/

Get the team involved and delegate tasks to everyone and also have regular meetings to know where things are at every point in time.