Team development:existing models and improvements

Revision as of 18:06, 7 April 2023

Team development: existing models and improvements...... by Zisis Atsou s210263

However, I suggest that in the abstract of the article, it should be written in a clear manner why this topic is relevant for a project manager. A few ideas could be: 1) Collaboration: A well-developed team works collaboratively, and every member contributes with their skills and expertise to the project. 2) Stakeholder Management: Teams that are well-developed are more likely to engage and communicate with stakeholders, ensuring that their expectations are met. 3) Resource Management: Projects usually have constrained resources. A well-developed team is more likely to manage these limited resources effectively, ensuring they are allocated appropriately and used efficiently. It might also be beneficial to consider writing the purpose of your article, which should be related to your table of contents. Some potential ideas could be: 1) Explaining the concept of a team and the benefits of teamwork 2) Describing the stages of team development 3) Identifying the challenges that might arise at each stage and discussing strategies to address them 4) Presenting techniques for effective team working

ABSTRACT

Team development or in short, teamwork , is an important tool for companies to gain a step in a competitive environment. Bruce Tuckman in 1965 established 4 stages of team development , in order to identify the feelings and behaviors of every teammate, as well as break down the process of creating a team(1). Companies invest a lot of money in teamwork, cause their products , services , or any other activity they have, depends on specific expertise, therefore a well-developed group of people can work efficiently and meet the goals . Additionally, stakeholders want constant information about proggress tracking, and an efficient team can help ease the communication by reassuring their money is in good place . Also, recourses are very limited, and the team will be tasked to make do with what they have, that cant be achieved without coordinated work(2,3).

Both Tuckman & Jensen, in 1977 finalized the stages model with 5 stages in total, many researches explained the stages as well but all concluded to 5 common ones: Forming, Storming, Norming , Performing, and adjourning . All of which can be used, not only to evaluate how well the team members are gonna connect, but to identify any problems that may occur during this process(4).

So, in this article, all the stages will be described in order to explain the concept of teamwork, as well as to identify the challenges in the process, highlight the benefits and suggest ideas for more effective teamwork.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE BASICS OF TEAMWORK..............................................

DESCRIPTION OF STAGES-IDENTIFING CHALLENGES.............................

FORMING.................................................................

STORMING...............................................................

NORMING................................................................

PERFORMING...........................................................

ADJOURNING...........................................................

ADDRESSING THE ISSUES.................................................

TECHNIQUES FOR BETTER TEAMWORK ........................................

IMPROVEMENTS AND CONCLUSION.?..........................................

THE BASICS OF TEAMWORK

Bruce Tuckman in 1965, stated that teams dont form fast, by accident, or slowly(9). Instead they follow specific stages, going from completely strangers to a cohesive group with a common goal(8). This common goal is what keeps them together, cause later on they will be tasked to handle a specific task that demands their attention(8,9). Additionally, its beneficial for a company, cause(11) :

Better problem solving , more brains ears and eyes on a problem are better than one  

Increased chances for innovation , lots of expertise from various backgrounds and education  

When the  team members are encouraged to be open at each other during the process that in return helps the task at hand 

Less fatique , and more personal time , since the work load is shared  

Less mistakes and more creativity, a variety of educations means more and better ideas for any task, as well as attention to detail 

DESCRIPTION OF STAGES – IDENTIFING CHALLENGES

Originally, Tuckman ´s model had 4 stages called Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing, and years later in collaboration with Mary Ann Jensen in 1977, they introduced a fifth stage called adjourning(5,8,7). This specific model was crafted in a fluid manner, so when a step is completed the next one follows naturally(9). Additionally, for members to move from one step to the next they have to resolve every issue(7,8).

Specifically the stages are:

FORMING

For starters, it all depends on the team leader , everyone expects guidance from he/she(6,8). Otherwise, people follow visible characteristics, such as sex, looks, nationality, its a wait and see attitude(7).At this point, the weaknesses and strengths, have to be made clear, so everyone knows whos next to them, and for that leaders are important. Also, the main goal has to be stated clearly and understood by all members, as well as limitations, and expectations(7). Members are getting to know each other, since everyone has a past from previous experiences in teamwork, good or bad, scars will be made clear by all team members(6). At this stage nothing is expected from the team, only to meet each other.

STORMING

Here things get rough, communication between members is more free and chaotic, some will be offended, and fights will start(8). Additionally, some may fill inadequate, due to being undermined by others, and less social towards the others(8). Cliques can happen at this point, by education, nationality , beliefs(3). leaders need to show their skills here, set goals and boundaries for team members, and most importantly, communication , it must be done in a way that is acceptable by everyone(7). Furthermore, control, of everyone's contribution must be done immediately, everyone should have a task to do and someone to cooperate with, in order to avoid irritation and strifes between members(7).

NORMING

This is where the social attributes of everyone appear! people are slowly see common habits to each other, and learn each other better(6). However, fights are still here, but in a smaller scale, since people have gradually learned how to work with each other(8). In addition, success, risks , failures are all part of the process now, and the teammates know that , since relationships skills and roles have been established(8,6,5). leaders deserve congrats here, cause if they reach this stage, then they effectively resolved major issues in the team (2,6,7,8).

PERFORMING

All the arguing and problem solving from the previous stages pay off, the teammates have learn to solve any problem between them , individually everyone feels like they belong to a family(8,4). The team consists of interdependent members who strive to succeed a common goal , everybody wants to show their skills for the benefit of the team(8,10,3). Additionally, team members understand their roles , have developed self constraint , and respect for each other (6,2).

ADJOURNING

The project is about to finish, and its celebration time for the team, they made it. But did it go right? have they learned anything as far as teamwork goes? its up to the leader to figure out and point out to the members(2,4,7).

ADDRESSING THE ISSUES

The Upwork team(8) suggested during and at the completion of each stage, some rewards or tasks should be done to congratulate a milestone. Specifically:

FORMING

An informal introduction night should take place, so people can talk to each other, as well as trivia game about any topic, ex favorite sport, activity etc. That should help ease their minds about the task ahead as well as simlpy meeting each other.

STORMING

Work can make people feel insecure, especially when judged by a group in the same working space. Therefore compliments, and achievements should be acknowledged either by a graph or gift, or something as easy as a slide on a blackboard.

NORMING

here no moves are really necessary cause the teams is starting to bond together, so its better they do it them selves

PERFORMING

the only reward in this stages is contemplate on what is fine, what didn't work, and generally where to go next, which is different for each member

ADJOURING

A share of each others next step after the current task is completed

TECHNIQUES FOR BETTER TEAMWORK

Team building can be an overwhelming task, but the start should be about the task, what kind of expertise they need to fullfil all the tasks. If that's predetermined then the managers should shift their attention to the team itself. An interview should be carried out to each team member individually, asking simple things such as activities that they would like to do with others in order to get to know each other. Additionally, what's their dream team, what kind of people it includes, as well as strenths, weaknesses and changes that they would like to see. Since evebody's opinion is established, the next part should be about creating a routine that feels natural for team members to participate. Such as, a daily group chat , challenge day, weekly meeting that involve one on one coworker , and monthly hangout to celebrate a success or just to have fun. If the type of tasks has been agreed by everyone, the managers need to set the time frame for all this. Generally, being flexible in such cases is recommended, no specific days just a timeframe for the team to figure the time that suits them, activities should be free to choose, as well as any plan alterations should be accepted by the managers. Team members have to feel being part of the team not forced to take part in activities. Smaller additions to the teambuilding process can be a bravo every to one team mate who succeded on some task, or a short email about a question that everybody can answer, or even a small joke at the beginning of every meeting. Furthermore, a bulletin board should be given for the team to use as they see fit, fun facts or goals are usefull and most importantly treats , everyones likes treats, its the most thoughtful move to make the team connect. Setting goals and achieving them. in this case goals have to be vary specific related to the teams, The factors that appeared a lot during the primary stages of team development are education, nationality, sociability , task orientation , familiarity , beliefs , and ethics. According to Tang, Keow Ngang (7) how u shape your team as a leader in the beginning , can affect the process dramatically in many ways. But why bother, with such variety when it can all be the same, FOR EXAMPLE same nationality or beliefs. Depending on the demand or the task needed by a company, the team must have specific levels of education and expertise, rather than familiarity with each other(7). Additionally, task orientation highly depends on how talented the leader is, if they can address issues , unify the team and reach the common goal then it is a success. Personal characteristics on the other hand, such as beliefs and ethics , can alienate people during the primary stages due to fights and arguments, as well as create cliques, undermine group members. But after norming, people see common characteristics as a positive way to get to know each other better.

To sum up, Bruce Tuckman suggested this model of stages, by observing various groups of people, from beginning to the end of their group work. But trully it depends on the team, how they bond and they communicate with each other. some stages like storming may happen faster and some others like performing may be too hard to reach. Each team is different, and though some personal aspects influence the communication, its not always the same. the aspects that were mentioned above, education, nationality, sociability , task orientation , familiarity , beliefs , and ethics play an important role but not a major one.

References for the article

     1.What Is Tuckman’s Model Of Group Development? Tuckman’s Model Of Group Development In A Nutshell, Gennaro Cuofano / November 29, 2022 

     2.  Informal roles and the stages of interdisciplinary team development       MICHAELP. FARRELL, MADELINEH.  SCHMITT and GLORIAD.HEINEMANN,  Published online: 06 Jul 2009  

     3.  Issar, G., Navon, L.R. (2016). Team Work and its Development. In: Operational Excellence. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.proxy.findit.cvt.dk/10.1007/978-3-319-20699-8_32  

     4. How to successfully go through the Five Stages of Team Development, Natacha Leduc, 13 May 2019 

     5. The stages of group development: A retrospective study of dynamic team processes  Miller, Diane L. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences — 2003, Volume 20, Issue 2,
     
     6.  BRUCE TUCKMAN'S FORMING, STORMING, NORMING & PERFORMING TEAM DEVELOPMENT MODEL, academia edu, culture artwork,  2010 Carol Wilson www.coachingcultureatwork.com

     7.  TEAM DEVELOPMENT, Tang, Keow Ngang ,Leadership and Change Management — 2019, pp. 37-46
    
     8.  The 5 Stages of Team Development (Including Examples), hiring management article ,upwork, The Upwork Team April 28  2021 

     9.  Tuckman, B. (1965). Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63

     10. Project Management: "Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2" 6th Edition (2017)
     
     11. The importance of teamwork (as proven by science), TRACY MIDDLETON Contributing Writer,  published at worklife atlassian, 2022