5 Team Development Stages for Projects
When it comes to Team Development Stages, there are five main team development stages that a good project manager has to take his team through. I want to talk about those stages and what happens in each of the stages of team development. Follow me as we look at that together in this article.
#1 FORMING
At this stage, team members are wondering whether the decision to join the team was a wise one. They are making an initial judgement about the skills and personal qualities of their teammates, as well as worrying about how they personally will be viewed by the rest of the team.
During this stage, conversations tend to be polite and noncommittal because people hesitate to reveal too much about their personal views. In addition, team meetings tend to be confusing, because the team tries to figure out who is in charge.
#2 STORMING
Team members begin to assert themselves and control issues as they emerge. Personality differences begin to arise. Conflict results because team members differ in the way they want to make decisions.
#3 NORMING
The team begins to work productively, without worrying about personal acceptance or control issues. There are still conflicts; however, they tend to be focused on process issues rather than personality differences. The team begins to operate on mutual dependence and trust.
#4 PERFORMING
The team is working at optimum productivity. It is collaborating easily, communicating freely, and solving its own conflict problems. Team members feel safe in reporting problems, trusting their fellow team members to help them create the best solution for the team as a whole.
#5 ADJOURNING
The team members complete their assigned work and shift to the next project or assigned task. This phase is sometimes called “mourning”.
Other considerations…
Situational Changes
The process of forming, storming, norming and performing is not done in a “lock step” fashion by the team. Team members keep coming in and going out of the team. Whenever a new member joins, forming takes place; if the rest of the team already crossed the forming stage. So, these stages are not followed one after another but are rather situational.
Foster team building
To foster team building within a project team, a project manager may ask each of the veteran employees on the team to partner with a less experienced team member, offering coaching as needed and sharing knowledge, information, and expertise. Working together towards a shared goal is a great way for team members to help each other reach a greater level of performance.
Effective Project teams
The team members should work in a collaborative way to ensure project success. It is the responsibility of the project manager to build an effective project team and foster teamwork. Managers should give opportunities that challenge team members’ abilities, provide support and timely feedback, and recognize and reward good performance.
To achieve the highest team performance, managers should use effective communication methods, develop trust among team members, manage conflicts, and promote decision making and problem-solving.
Project Managers should seek support from the management or the appropriate stakeholders to effectively build project teams. This will help improve people’s skills, advance technical competencies, build a good team environment, and increase project performance.
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