Stages of Team Development

Team creation has become an important necessity for process improvement efforts. As quality practitioners, we are often involved in developing, leading, coaching, or facilitating teams as they go through their expected mission. Regardless of which role we may take in a specific teamwork assignment, it has become imperative for the professional quality manager to understand how teams behave once they have been created. This understanding, in turn, provides the process improvement practitioner with valuable insight on how to approach issues during the natural progression of any type of team development.

Bruce Tuckman, a renowned psychologist, has studied group development over many years, and has described how a group of people (whether in a work or leisure environment) behaves:

1. Forming: individuals are careful in what they say, they avoid confrontation, and each one studies the others. They are looking for acceptance and normally, participate on their best behaviour although they are still very focused on themselves.

2. Storming: at this stage there is competition for the best performer, the most trusted person, and other individualistic aspects of team membership. It can be an unpleasant experience for some but it is important for team members to get to know each other. Tolerance and patience are the key words here.

3. Norming: the team starts to look at the big picture. Members now trust each other more than in the previous stages, and the team starts to focus its attention on the tasks at hand. There is more compromising and consensus from all members and some may be giving up individual ideas for the benefit of the group's achievements. 

4. Performing: the team is fully engaged in achieving the goals set for the overall project and tasks are being performed smoothly. At this stage, members have become motivated and knowledgeable enough to perform at their best.

5. Adjourning: this last stage was introduced later. The team is now disbanding and lessons learned have been recorded for future reference. Usually, there is also formal company-wide recognition of  the team's successes.

All teams might however go back and forth between stages. For example, the introduction of a new member may take the entire team from stage 3 to stage 2. The importance of knowing these simple stages cannot be overstated. It is crucial for the quality practitioner to be aware of such stages, and by respecting each one of them, team leaders and/or facilitators can educate the others in how this cycle naturally occurs in order to avoid frustration and possible failure.