{"id":1047,"date":"2020-03-30T05:33:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T05:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/?p=1047"},"modified":"2023-04-04T08:26:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T08:26:01","slug":"the-5-stages-of-team-development-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/the-5-stages-of-team-development-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Stages of Team Development You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Get\nwork colleagues together to talk team development or group dynamics, and you’ll invariably\nhear someone utter the phrase: forming,\nstorming, norming and performing <\/em>and subsequently start an analysis of where\nparticular group is on the scale.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(There\nis also adjourning<\/em>, but this is\nusually left out because everyone forgets about it. Understandable, because the\nword was added later.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\nask from whence the benchmark for understanding group dynamics comes and you’ll likely draw\nblank looks. Or people will grab their phones and search Google. So who came\nup with the process that is part of our corporate jargon, and why is forming,\nstorming, norming and performing<\/em> so crucial to understanding how teams\nfunction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruce Tuckman<\/a>,<\/strong> an American psychologist who studied at Princeton, published research on the theory of group dynamics in 1965. He also researched procrastination, but that’s a story for another day (see what we did right there?). The Tuckman model — which has stood the test of time for 55 years — found that groups all functioned, or not, in five stages: forming, storming, norming. performing,<\/em> and adjourning.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuckman<\/strong>’s\nStages of Group Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stage 1: Forming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is nothing a like that first team meeting. Sitting around the conference table checking each other out, noticing who’s late, who’s still on their phone, who the chatty one is and who’s a little on the quiet side. People are polite because they are on their best behaviour. It’s much too early to let individual personalities shine — although the patterns are already evident, and snap judgements<\/a> have already been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wise\nleaders use this time strategically to establish expectations around the\nculture of the team. Leaders should involve everyone in the development of the\ngroup. Buy-in is crucial at this stage. Other items that need to be discussed\nopenly at the forming stage of Tuckman’s model include conflict resolution,\nindividual and team roles and responsibilities, timelines and goals.\nProductivity is not a high priority at this stage, rather, the emphasis needs\nto be on forming a functional team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good\nground work laid at this stage of team development will minimise future problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 2: Storming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It takes time — and effort — for people to get to know each other, and there’s some truth to the saying the familiarity breeds contempt. Spending at least eight hours per day in the vicinity of people who may not be like us can be stressful. Different personality styles, ways of working and managing conflict can cause friction. Even food choices and the smell of someone’s cologne, or a preference for ninjas over pirates, can trigger aggravation and keep tensions simmering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working on the task at hand together, with deadlines to meet and projects to deliver means that politeness can often take a back seat. Team members jostle with each other over their own individual priorities and try to figure each other out. Disagreements happen and this is a good thing! Team leaders should check in with their people regularly and take steps to proactively and empathetically address any issues — if the storming stage of development goes pear-shaped, often the project does too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 3: Norming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norming\nis one of the more interesting stages from a team development perspective\nbecause its where trust builds and relationships start to bloom. Brief, polite\nchats in the tea room turn into longer conversations and opinions about work — and the final season of Game of Thrones. Lunches and\nafter work drinks start happening. People start hanging out more because they\nnot only enjoy working together, but they also like each other’s company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team\nbuilding days don’t\nfeel lame or awkward, and team meetings are focused on results and\nproductivity. Issues are discussed in a mature and empathetic way, and\nsolutions to challenges are found. However, if new members are recruited to the\nteam, more storming and norming will need to be done as adjustments to group\ndynamics naturally occur.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groups\ncan go backwards and forwards between the storming and norming stages of team\ndevelopment as teams adjust to new requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 4: Performing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nTuckman’s\nstages, performing is the sweet spot. The team has been working together for a\nwhile and things are humming along nicely. Members understand each other’s work\nstyles. Promises made and kept. Tough but necessary conversations are handled\nwith aplomb and empathy. Compromises are made. Deadlines have been met.\nCelebrations have been had. What’s important is that the group trusts each\nother. And they deliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nteam is motivated, skilled and familiar with the project and how valuable their\ncontribution is to making it all happen. Conflict, if it occurs is easily\nresolved, and frank and fearless conversations are the rule, not the exception.\nThe project is a success!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 5: Adjourning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuckman\nadded the adjourning stage in 1977 — 12\nyears after the original research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nproject has been completed, so the team adjourns to work on other jobs or in\nother roles. Members may mourn the end of the project because they have forged\nclose relationships and bonds that have become important. There is also a sense\nof uncertainty that comes with the windup of a job, and good leaders will help\ntheir teams work through this stage with empathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to use Tuckman<\/strong>’s\nmodel to develop your team<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Strong, effective teams rarely just happen. If you throw a bunch of people together without any intervention in how they should work, generally you get a social-science experiment<\/a>. Science experiments are necessary, of course — and fun — but when time, cost and quality is an issue, it’s not the best way to manage a team. Talent does not trump chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good\nleaders who understand what constitutes the five stages of group development — and use Tuckman’s model to cultivate their teams —\nincrease the project’s success rate exponentially. Leadership is everything in\nteam development because leaders set the tone and manage the culture of their\nteam. Attitude always reflects leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So\nif you’re\nnew to leading teams, or the team you’re leading isn’t functioning well, what\nshould you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Mission critical<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without\na clear mission, your team won’t\nunderstand its purpose. Those big questions: Why\nare we here? What do we want to achieve? Why are we doing what we<\/em>’re\ndoing?<\/em>\nare crucial to your team knowing that the work they are doing is meaningful and\ntheir individual role has a point. In any conflict, come back to your mission.\nIt will remind your team that something bigger than them as individuals is at\nstake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your\nmission is your road map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Embrace conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve been conditioned to the idea that conflict is negative and damaging.  Conflict can be positive<\/a> and enhance creativity, as well as encourage innovation and new ways of working. It just depends on how it is handled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conflict that is respectful, where everyone’s view are heard and that aims to solve the matter at hand — without personal low blows — will build trust among your team members. You might need to provide training to work on soft skills and empathy, but it will be worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Manage the culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establish the culture of your team early and know how to discipline an employee<\/a>. Poor behavior that is tolerated continues. Reward and incentivize what you want to see, and do something about the behavior you don’t — and do it early. Ensure you don’t impose rules on your team — you can certainly guide and facilitate, but the buy-in of your group is needed otherwise they won’t commit — and they’ll find creative ways to circumvent rules they don’t agree with, or find unreasonable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agreed rules might range from no phones in meetings to sharing your monthly work plan with your colleagues. You might want to discuss expected and punctual attendance at team meetings or conflict resolution or tracking time using Traqq software for visibility and accountability. Rules are situational and can change. Just remember — manage the culture or it manages you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Self-managed teams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teams that are self-managed, where the team leader facilitates the project rather than being the “boss” via positional power is an ideal state that can be achieved with some effort. Connected autonomy makes for a happier workforce overall — and a more productive team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nremote work and freelancing more common and on the increase, and colleagues not\noften in the same city, let alone time zone, teams can still function well — but there needs to a visionary manager who understands\nhuman nature — and a little technological intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traqq<\/a> is a desktop application that is one of the easiest and simplest ways to track your time and productivity, and that of your team. Suitable for freelancers or large multi-national teams, activating your account is free and includes access to the full suite of tools and features, including encrypted data and ethical tracking. Traqq is a time tracking software free<\/a> for anyone to use. You can download it and access all its features at no cost.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Get work colleagues together to talk team development or group dynamics, and you\u2019ll invariably hear someone utter the phrase: forming, storming, norming and performing and subsequently start an analysis of where particular group is on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[71,198],"class_list":["post-1047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collaboration-and-team-building","tag-team-management","tag-managing-a-remote-team"],"views":4106,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1047"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28603,"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047\/revisions\/28603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}