Highlights

• Stages of Team Development
• Using Your “Teams In Action” Skills

The Team Builder	Ideas for Teams and Interpersonal Skills October 1998
	Stages of Team Development What your team is experiencing is normal!

Whenever people are put together in a  group, there are definite, observable developmental phases the group will go through before it becomes functional - or really becomes a team.  The phases can be quite uncomfortable for the individual who is unprepared and does not recognize the team’s state of development.  The team itself can get stalled at a certain stage and never progress to being fully functional, if it does not  monitor its own progress. 

What is important for teams to progress, is to acknowledge their stage of development, talk it through - using the team skills learned in Teams in Action - and move ahead.  The team should be focused on ensuring that all members come through the stages together emerging as a caring work group.

Here are the stages of team development, can you identify where your team has been and where it is now?

Stage 1 - Forming

When groups first form, the members approach the situation from different perspectives - some are fearful, some are eager, some will seek authority, others will prefer to observe interactions.  Whatever the person’s initial role, the question is the same - how do I belong to this group? 

People will, through their own personal style, begin to get to know each other and will find small ways to get involved with the others.  There is some exchange of attitudes and values - but only enough to test the receptiveness of the others. Most interactions are superficial and the group will appear to be successful, with its members feeling comfortable with each other.

If a leader has not been formally named, informal leaders will emerge in stage 1 to provide some stability and direction to group.  These informal group leaders are rarely challenged, because the others in the group are willing to exchange control, influence and power for a short period to focus on learning about the others.

 Initial foundations are laid for deeper friendships, simple tasks are accomplished by each individual falling back on past successful behaviors and relationship testing continues until each member makes a decision to become involved with or commit to the group.  This initial calm - kind of a “honeymoon” period - dissolves when the group is faced with real challenges and problems.

Groups that stay in Forming  never tackle tough issues or really get to know each other - they never strengthen the interpersonal bonds  or develop work methods that create teams.

Stage 2 - Storming

As groups progress, they reach a stage where it becomes necessary to sort out the influence, power and control issues.  Former leaders will find their roles challenged in this stage.  Members have reached a point of emotional security and are now ready to assert their points of views and preferred ways of behaving.  Some become dissidents - unhappy with early norms developed by the group.   This becomes an uncomfortable stage for the group - it tests the early bonds and can be marked by conflict between members.  New alliances are formed as the group tends to split into factions.

The group may fail as often as it succeeds.  It may not make progress and in turn, be frustrated by the lack of progress.  Finger pointing and blame appear in the group; and the group in general begins to avoid dealing with big issues to avoid the conflicts.  A lot of energy goes into the emotional trauma, with little left for group performance.

The group is seeking answers to who controls the group and how the control is exercised.  It is also struggling with the dissidents and how to bring them back.   Thoughts of wanting out of the group or of wanting another group member gone are quite common at this stage.

Groups must address the control and influence issues to progress.  To become healthy, it is important that the group decide how to operate and work through the difficulties.  It is extremely important to use good interpersonal skills to ensure all members pass this stage without lingering resentment.

Groups that get stuck in Storming remain entrenched in internal conflicts, unable to reach conclusions and in general don’t like each other. Power struggles are frequent, difficulties are avoided, tough problems aren’t solved.  In short, the group is dysfunctional, work takes second place to negative emotions, and the group never reaches team status.

Stage 3 - Norming

For groups that successfully resolve their power and influence concerns, their energies are released to tackle the real issues.  The focus is off the negative relationships of the group members and now on to what the group can accomplish.  The group has transitioned to a team - its members are now working towards common goals and mutual success.

Contribution of all members becomes important, respect is regained and the members are concerned about the effectiveness of work methods and process.  The team tends to work a bit formally, the business of getting organized and establishing acceptable team standards for behavior and performance takes careful thought, discussion and time.

The team is focused on being effective, striving for excellence comes later.  The team is willing to begin experimenting with creative problem solving and flexibility.

Friendships begin to deepen, the team may develop its own “team speak” or short hand ways of getting messages across.  The team is now committed to making the team work.  All members must be interested in and supportive of the other members, however, the level of commitment will vary among the team.

Although this is a pleasant stage, where teams can be effective and economize effort, teams the get stuck in Norming  will not achieve excellence.  Process will be slow and methodical,  but the team will be bogged down in setting standards as opposed to surpassing them.!

Stage 4 - Performing

Once the team has established its norms, it picks up speed.  The team handles tasks quickly and effectively, and collaborates on solutions.  However, the team is aware of the pitfalls of group think and guards against it by positively challenging each other.

Relationships are strong, the team has developed close rapport and bonds.  All members care for each other and are quick to address and resolve any interpersonal issues that threaten the team.  The team members truly enjoy each other’s company and are willing to extend his/herself for the team or one of the individual team members.

The team, however, has not lost sight of the individual.  Each person is considered valuable with a distinctive gift.  The high regard the team members have for one another is obvious to observers.

The team now thinks outside itself and understands its collective contribution to the larger organization - it is aware of the arrogance and isolationist attitudes that can come from a close knit group and avoids those pitfalls.  It works to build positive relationships with other teams and individuals.

If the performing team can be summed up - it would be in the word “excellence” which it strives to achieve in its relationships, work methods, processes and product.

Teams should strive to be stuck at the Performing stage - but nothing is that stagnant!

Final words on teams - whenever the team dynamics change - a new team member joins, the nature of the work changes, etc. - the team will recycle through the stages.  But for teams and individuals who know what to expect and how to handle the phases -the first three stages can be painlessly and speedily completed. (And they will be repeated!)

Using Teams In Action Skills Can Help!

In all stages of group process, team members should remember to use these important skills to minimize the time spent in less productive stages and to maximize team effectiveness at all phases:

Listen In

Remember to inquire into what your teammate is saying to gain a full understanding of their ideas and concerns. Bracket those personal thoughts and responses, paraphrase what you’ve heard, check your perceptions and ask probing questions.  Applying this skill at Forming will move this stage, as well as all other stages, along smartly.

Speak Out

Advocate your own point of view while respecting the views of others. Make a choice to speak, acknowledge the other’s point of view, state your perspective and invite comment.   Failure to speak out leads to frustration and resentment - baggage that will keep you stuck in Storming.

Facilitate Agreement

Help each other collaborate by making a series of small agreements through the agreement-building process.  Deal with one idea at a time, focus on points of agreement, not disagreement, break issues down and go for one small agreement at a time.  Using this approach will help at any time - but won’t it help move a team through Norming nicely?

Reconcile Differences

Resolve differences immediately, before they become big problems. Restate the other person’s position, emphasize with their situation, discover his/her interest and disclose your own, propose options but don’t ask for commitment, build small agreements. Your team will never get to Stage 4 if it can’t get along!

Exchange Feedback

Keep the lines open and build the team relationships by speaking about the impact one’s behavior is having on other individuals or the team!  Let a team mate know when they’ve done a good job.  And be a good player by taking the feedback positively - remember it is coming from someone who cares. To give feedback - remember to describe the behavior, state the impacts of the behavior and make a suggestion or request. When receiving - remember to summarize your understanding, ask questions for clarification and respond to the suggestion or request.

This newsletter is designed to share how-to information that will help teams and individuals in their desire for excellence and to strengthen our company. If you have a team success story, tip or idea you would like to share - please contact Sandy Barnes, Organization Development Manager, BHP Coated Steel Corp. in Kalama, Washington.