Corporate Events & Team Building Ideas

At each team development stage we can expect different behaviours. Some have to do with getting used to each other. Some have to do with creating modes of working together. And some have to do with getting on with the tasks and objectives for which the team was formed in the first place.  In the jargon of teams, the four team development stages are forming, storming, norming, and performing.

STAGE 1: FORMING:  Just as the name implies, this is the beginning team development stage of team. It’s the stage where members start to feel one another out and get to know each other as tem members, not just fellow employees. One expert in organization culture calls this the dependency stage. The member depends on one another and the leader to provide direction because they aren’t sure of themselves.

STAGE 2: STORMING:  In this team development stage, the members begin to understand their task. They may realize that it is more difficult than they imagined. They still don’t have their roles figured out. At this point, it’s normal for members to become a little defensive because they are not making progress as quickly they would like. They’re not sure how it’s all going to work out, and they might become anxious and impatient.

STAGE 3: NORMING:  In this team development stage, team members begin to reconcile differences among themselves and finally get used to working together. They accept each other, their roles, norms, and expectations. As this happens, the team member’s initial resistance to working together fades away and competitive relationship become more cooperative.

STAGE 4: PERFORMING: At this team development stage, the team members have reconciled most of their differences, and they have become comfortable with each other. They have discovered and they accept each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

High performing teams don’t just spring up ready to go. It takes time, energy, experience, and learning for a group of people who come together as a team to learn how to operate as well functioning units.

It’s useful for anyone who is trying to start a team or who is going to be a member of one to understand these team development stages. In this way, team members won’t have their expectations shattered when things don’t go so smoothly at the beginning.

Finally, don’t forget that high-performing teams are most likely to happen in organizations that have a set of values in place that supports teamwork.

Nauka Shah, the author, is the founder of http://www.leadership-quality.com. A website dedicated to helping strategic leaders for his strategic leadership. She has written other leadership articles, press releases, leadership books, and has leadership videos on leadership development, motivation, self improvement, and organization development. Her mission is to help others all over the world succeed in their own business. To read more of her leadership articles and leadership tips visit her website at http://www.leadership-quality.com to read The Team Development Stages.

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