Manager’s Guide To Navigating The Four Stages Of Team Development

I’m sure you have heard there are four stages of team development that each team goes through before they perform at a high level. Engineering management, leadership, software architecture, high-performing teams, professional growth. This way, you can prepare for conversations that build trust while supporting your team and leading through each team development stage. Identifying each of the 4 stages of team development helps you underscore your team’s needs during each one. A team cannot be expected to perform well right from the time it is formed. At the Storming Stage, managers should ensure the team members agree on the team norms and keep following them.

what are the four stages of group development

This stage presents a time where the group is just starting to come together and is described with anxiety and uncertainty. At the Performing Stage, managers can expect the team to start delivering predictable results and meeting deadlines. They can delegate more responsibilities to the team and focus on more strategic work. During the Norming stage, the team gradually optimises how it works. If the team doesn’t have some form of the continuous improvement process, such improvements happen organically, but if it does — they progress faster. Each stage of team development doesn’t necessarily take just as much time as the one that comes after it, nor the one before it.

Group interaction are lot more easier, more cooperative, and productive, with weighed give and take, open communication, bonding, and mutual respect. This is a way for the team to present their accomplishments and celebrate their success. You may see team members resist in taking on tasks for the RIE. It’s important to engage everyone and assure them their ideas are needed for success. The organisational environment the new team exists in is also unfamiliar to its members.

They need to help them find a way to work together and support struggling team members. Finally, they should ensure the team can resolve internal conflicts and disagreements. The roles and boundaries are typically unclear at the Storming stage.

Stage 4

It’s an ideal state for any manager to witness their team’s growth and ask reflective questions. A Rapid Improvement Event is a 3-5 day-long activity where you bring together team members from different areas to improve a process or department. Because of the short duration of the team, it’s important to move through the four stages of team development quickly. As issues are addressed and resolved, the team’s morale begins to increase. Trust builds, productivity rises and the team begins working together toward the common goal.

Storming starts when conflicts and competition emerge in the team. At this stage, the team goals may already be clear, although its members may have different views on the best ways to achieve them. Managers should help the team consider everyone’s point of view and allow each member to contribute to relevant team discussions.

I first heard of his stages of team development when I attended advanced leadership training offered by the Boy Scouts of America. Tuckman’s theory is that every group moves through four stages on its way to becoming a high-performing team. By recognizing these stages, we can adapt our leadership style to the needs of the team. The final stage is marked by high productivity and enthusiasm.

Conduct brainstorming using the eight wastes and a PICK chart to narrow your solution options. Depending upon the team makeup and the size of your organization, some people may know each other and some might not. At this stage, team members are polite but often anxious. They know and rely on each other’s strengths and can work together to achieve ambitious goals and meet deadlines. After all, their ability to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals is a reflection of a management job well done. Not only are you proud of the team development they’ve exemplified, but you’re also proud of their individual capacity to stay in integrity with the quality of their work.

The norming stage is more harmonious since teams understand why it’s important to ask for help, and how to come to you with questions when they need guidance. Remote teams A simple platform that tells you how remote teams really feel, and fosters action-oriented 1-on-1 conversations. Team leadership Support managers with the tools and resources they need to lead hybrid & remote teams.

Your team will experience obstacles in the storming stage. While originally things had been going according to plan, roadblocks crop up during this stage. You recognize that your team is new, and want them to feel supported, motivated and psychologically safe. So, you host a meeting where your team can get to know one another, their work style, and the way they feel appreciated.

what are the four stages of group development

After the storming stage, they recognize behavioural patterns, strengths and develop foresight for upcoming roadblocks. This way, they’ll remain high-performing while re-establishing trusted connections. As a result, you’ll establish yourself as a leader of a team rooted in transparency and trust while you communicate clear expectations and team principles. When your team learns more context about what’s required of them in this stage, they’ll feel more confident. Alignment Get your people in the same mindset with OKR goals and 1-on-1 meetings. This stage of a group can be confusing and is usually reached when the task is successfully completed.

This way, each employee knows they can trust you, and each other going forward. Your team is new and excited to learn about upcoming projects as well as about each other. You outline the work, as well as key milestones, deliverables and objectives. If you reflect on them, they’ll tell you a cohesive story about their strengths, needs and performance. Understand your people’s needs and make team management your greatest strength.

The team is collaborating to meet the original goals and objectives, and the members are excited to be on a high-performing team. In this stage, leadership is shared as the team works toward exceeding standards and continuous improvement. They eventually https://globalcloudteam.com/ agree on some team norms and find a way to collaborate. The team’s level of conflict and antagonism drops, and people become more constructive, supportive, and understanding. These are the signs to identify the transition into this stage.

This is a great time to reflect on what makes a high-performing team able to accomplish tasks and move through obstacles. It’s the time where your team learns about upcoming projects and structures. Here, it’s typical for teammates to feel excited, anxious, and curious about what lies ahead. At this stage, the team’s routine and norms become stable and change infrequently. The team may start thinking strategically about their work and balance work on initiatives and process improvements.

Five Stage Model Of Group Development

Reaching consensus on each issue that requires a debate is crucial — compromises won’t help in the long term. Frequent and regular team retrospectives are great for discussing and resolving issues at this stage. This is the perfect team development stage to learn about how your team overcomes obstacles and bonds through shared experiences. This is because your team recognizes how they can trust you and each other in order to complete tasks, move towards their objectives and rely on each other for help. This is where it’s important to level with individual contributors and truly get to know what’s going on.

what are the four stages of group development

At this point, you recognize that your team has grown significantly and is capable of achieving big things together. You approach your team to learn about their bottlenecks, roadblocks and concerns. You come to realize that, by involving yourself, they’re burdened by an apprehension to speak up and would rather spend time rectifying the situation. It’s been a few weeks, and your team has gotten to know one another. The problem is, they’re coming up against harsh deadlines, and mistakes have been made along the way.

The Four Stages Of Group Communication

Questions around leadership, authority, rules, policies, norms, responsibilities, structure, evaluation criteria and reward systems tend to arise during the storming stage. Such questions need to be answered so that the group can move further on to the next stage. Because an RIE has a defined beginning and end, you need to move through these four steps quickly.

They usually relate to the roles of each team member or how the team should function as a whole. The problems are dealt with quickly and simply, or they might simply be avoided. The conflicts can persist under the surface, depending on the group dynamic. This is the stage during which the “rules” are generally formed and members become more clear on their duties and responsibilities. Tuckman believed that all groups need to go through this process to be most effective.

  • At this stage, the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off in different directions.
  • You outline the work, as well as key milestones, deliverables and objectives.
  • The managers must introduce the team to its stakeholders and explain its dependencies and its place in the organisation.
  • I like to refer to Value Stream Maps that have been developed before the event.
  • I first heard of his stages of team development when I attended advanced leadership training offered by the Boy Scouts of America.
  • Blog Actionable articles to help managers improve in their role.
  • In fact, momentum doesn’t only seem high, it feels favourable.

This means they understand how to work together in a cohesive way that helps them reach their goals. The performing group is one of increased flexibility and independence. Because the members know and appreciate each other, they can trust one another to handle their what are the four stages of group development required tasks. They can work together well and be comfortable with each person working individually to achieve their goals. If responsibilities need to be revised, it is done more easily in this stage. The group has a high morale and energy during this stage.

Forming Stage

They may have to re-convene briefly to continue to work on any open items, but the improvement activity that brought them together is complete. This is where the team takes on the hard work of improving the defined area they are working on. There is little friction between team members and everyone pitches in to meet the stated goal. They’ll look to you for guidance and support, and when you establish a trusting two-way conversation, you’ll pave the way towards their professional growth.

Here are three tips that will help you successfully move the team through the four stages of team development. At this stage, team members jockey for informal leadership. Often there is angst because people have different working styles and they are now being asked to use a common style. During the storming phase, resistance and minor conflicts arise. Issues might be brought up by less patient group members.

Percentage Of Abandoned Calls In Support And Services Department

Discover all templates Made to solve challenges quickly and build stronger relationships with your team. Group leadership is very important, but the facilitator can step back a little and let group members take the initiative and move forward together. During day two, the team might develop new layout options. Look for ways to improve flow, eliminate inventory, and WIP.

Signs And Questions To Look Out For In The Norming Stage

They feel confident and comfortable when approaching you with concerns and questions. You recognize this isn’t any one team member’s fault, but you want to make it right. The last thing you want to experience is team members who de-value one another or collectively fall behind. In this meeting, you take notes from each team member and apply these to your team principles.

Scenario: Youre Leading Your Team Through The Forming Stage

Once the rules have been formed, the norming stage begins. Now that each group member understands their own responsibilities and those of the rest of the group, they will start to appreciate the other group members. They will be more open to listening to each other and understanding each member’s experience and skills. They will be more supportive and start to feel as though they are part of the group. When your team has grown through the stages of team development they establish a state of “flow”.

At this point, the leader should draw out the opinions of all members and leverage the diversity of the team. As conflicts arise, the leader must take quick action to deal with the issue and maintain the positive climate. Your team needs to communicate clearly and, rely on one another rather than turn on each other. This is a crucial point in team development where leaders can pinpoint bottlenecks, areas of improvement and couple them with team strengths to build forward momentum.

Fi Jamieson-Folland
About Fi Jamieson-Folland 512 Articles
Fi Jamieson-Folland D.O, is a Lifestyle Consultant, with over 20 years experience in Europe, Asia and New Zealand as a qualified osteopath, educator, writer, certified raw vegan gluten-free chef, speaker, health mentor and Health Brand Ambassador. She loves to globe-trot with her husband Chris (NZ, USA, UK and Indonesia are current favourites) relishing an outdoor lifestyle and time with family and friends. See Fi in action: https://youtu.be/S5xU96gvpMQ