It is common to see companies go through changes. Changes that possibly bring success to the company. These changes may include restructuring processes and procedures, reshuffle talents, develop new plans, seek out new ideas, establish more training and seminars. For these changes to be implemented successfully, developing a high-performing team during the process is just as important as the changes or maybe even more important for the company to be successful.
To create a high-performing team, many leaders need to understand the four stages of how a team evolves over-time and to reach and sustain a high-performing team. The four stages that all teams go are forming, storming, norming, and performing (R. T. Moran; N. R. Abramson; S. V. Moran, 2014, p. 268). This model was in introduce by Bruce Tuckman to help explain how teams develop maturity and abilities.
Forming
During the forming stage, individuals are eager to be on a team and wonder how they will fit into the team. The individuals will do a lot more observing and asking questions with the focus of defining the mission, goals, and tasks rather than accomplishing it (Stein, 2020).
Storming
The individuals work more towards its goal and mission. However, individuals will still have differences and opinions which can lead to frustration or disagreement about goals, expectations, roles, and responsibilities being openly expressed (Stein, 2020). During this stage, team members my question team’s original mission or goals.
Norming
During this stage, individuals will put their differences aside and will try to resolve conflicts and discrepancies. They are also more acceptable to others’ opinions and being more inclusive to other individuals. Also, communication is a lot more frequent and more meaningful with achieving a common goal (Stein, 2020) There is a willingness to share ideas and tasks others for help too. Also, the team may consider doing evaluations of team processes and productivity (Stein, 2020).
Performing
Team members have a “we can do it” attitude along with roles on the team are more fluid (Stein, 2020). They make significant progress on common goals and processes. The team also goes beyond a level of commitment and shows a high level of competency in their knowledge and skills. They also continue to work to improve their team development (Stein, 2020).
Each stage is necessary and inevitable for a team to grow and face challenges. High performing team is relatively measurable and is far more rewarding. With a high-performing team also brings team synergy. According to Moran, Abramson & Moran (2014), synergy is defined as cooperative or combined action and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for a common cause p. 266. In a global context, when team synergy is achieved it allows organizations to extend beyond their four walls and collaborate with other organizations, also known as joint ventures, to achieve the higher success of the business. In conclusion, bringing employees’ talents and skills into one melting pot, and creating team synergy maximizes productivity and the right motivation to achieve the ultimate success.
References
- T. Moran; N. R. Abramson; S. V. Moran. (2014). In Managing cultural differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.
Stein, J. (2020, February 28). Using the stages of team development. Retrieved from Hr.mit.edu: https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development
Anna, you did a wonderful job describing the four stages involved in high-preforming teams. Your article reminds me of a blog post I wrote for my Applied Social Psychology class, where I went over the characteristics needed in making strong team members. When you describe the “performing” stage, how a teammate needs to have the “we can do it” attitude to progress that team along, it also should be noted that team members have to have excellent communication with one another in order to have a successful team relationship and to reach long or short-term goals (Kramer, 2019; Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2005). Communication is very much needed in the forming stage you described because without clear communication, team members will not be able to accomplish tasks or even communicate concerns/observations. Additionally in high-preforming teams, teammates need to be self-motivated, fully committed to the group, and to the main goal (Kramer, 2019).
Moran, Abramson, and Coutts (2014) describe how synergy involves the “collective contribution of the team”. This goes along with how you described team synergy as being a way to promote higher success. In the norming stage, it is very important for team members to give constructive criticism (Moran et al., 2014). Members should also strive to make the team atmosphere as nonjudgmental and comfortable as they can. This will help in team building because it will allow for a more relaxed environment. Anna, which of the four stages do you believe is the most important in the creation of high-performance team-making ?
References
Kramer, J. (2019, February 26). 3 Characteristics of a strong team member. Retrieved from https://sites.psu.edu/aspsy/2019/02/26/3-characteristics-of-a-strong-team-member/
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.
Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.A. (2005). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.