What are the stages of team development?
• Teams pass through various stages of development during their life cycles, and each stage poses somewhat distinct management problems.
• In the forming stage, team members first come together and form initial impressions; it is a time of task orientation and interpersonal testing.
• In the storming stage, team members struggle to deal with expectations and status; it is a time when conflicts over tasks and how the team works are likely.
• In the norming or initial integration stage, team members start to come together around rules of behavior and what needs to be accomplished; it is a time of growing cooperation.
• In the performing or total integration stage, team members are well-organized and well-functioning; it is a time of team maturity when performance of even complex tasks becomes possible.
• In the adjourning stage, team members achieve closure on task performance and their personal relationships; it is a time of managing task completion and the process of disbanding.
How do teams work?
• Teams are open systems that interact with their environments to obtain resources that are transformed into outputs.
• The equation summarizing the implications of the open systems model for team performance is: Team Effectiveness = Quality of Inputs × (Process Gains − Process Losses).
• Input factors such as resources and organizational setting, the nature of the task, team size, and team composition, establish the core performance foundations of a team.
• Team processes include basic group dynamics, the way members work together to use inputs and complete tasks.
• Important team processes include member entry, task and maintenance leadership, roles and role dynamics, norms, cohesiveness, communications, decision making, conflict, and negotiation.