The stages of team development are crucial as employee retention continues to be a concern for many organizations. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, organizations in the United States experienced an 18% turnover rate in 2016. Only 43% of organizations had formal succession planning, focusing primarily on executive leadership. These rates drop significantly for individual contributors to 27% for professional roles and 17% of non-professional roles (Society for Human Resource Management, 2017). The combination of high turnover and low succession planning means that teams are constantly in flux, and members of the teams will have varying degrees of knowledge and experience.
According to the research of Bruce Tuckman, teams experience distinct stages of development:
Forming In this first stage, members are getting to know one another by gathering and exchanging information (The Pennsylvania State University). Interactions are generally polite to avoid conflict. The foundation of the team is built in this stage by outlining each member’s role and the overall team goal (Stein).
Storming The team may become distracted from the goal as members grow frustrated with one another. Conflict in this stage can be productive if the team works through the best way to move forward and refocuses on the goal (The Pennsylvania State University).
Norming Team members begin to experience comfort and their roles and with other members of the team. Group expectations, or “norms,” start to solidify. It is during this stage that the team really starts working together towards their shared goal (The Pennsylvania State University).
Performing The members of the team are confident in their abilities and have an understanding of each other’s strengths and areas of opportunity. Setbacks and roadblocks are addressed, and the team is able to adjust quickly and refocus (Stein).
Adjourning In preparation of the team disbanding, the team finalizes all tasks related to the shared goal.
Another stage has been informally added to address changes in team membership:
Reforming When new people are introduced, the whole team has to go back to the beginning and work through the four stages again. To be most effective, conflict should be met by refocusing on the goals to “fight about the right things (Muzio, 2010).”
Many of us have strong (and often negative) feelings about the experience of being on a team, whether in our studies or our professional lives. For such a common phenomenon, trying to accomplish a common goal as part of a team is often viewed as frustrating. Tempers can flare and feelings can be hurt. Motivation and morale will either wane or increase, depending on how quickly the team starts to realize progress towards that goal. Being part of a team can be less intimidating with an understanding of how teams form, resolve conflict, and ultimately work in harmony.
References:
Muzio, E. (2010, April 6). Tuckman’s Model: Fight Right! Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNgzjYb02JM&feature=youtu.be
Society for Human Resource Management. (2017, December). 2017 Human Capital Benchmarking. Retrieved from SHRM Online – Society for Human Resource Management: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/Documents/2017-Human-Capital-Benchmarking.pdf
Stein, J. Using the Stages of Team Development. Retrieved from HR at MIT: http://hrweb.mit.edu/learning-development/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development
The Pennsylvania State University. Lesson 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved from PSYCH 485, Section 002: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1925331/modules/items/23786592
brs226 says
You mention how many people have strong and often negative feelings about being on a team. I experience this daily with my techs at work. We all have the same mission, but our reasons for being there are completely different. Some people actually feel like they’re making a difference and saving lives. Some are sticklers for making sure everything is done by the book. Some are trying to get promoted. Others are just there because they need a job. Our personal motivations make it hard to completely come together. Personalities often compete with each other. Sometimes the roles that people fall into, aren’t the roles that they desire or are best for. Even the best leaders can’t force people to get along.