The developmental stages of teams in the workplace refers to the phases of employee groups working together and pass through before functioning as a successful and productive team. A common model of four team stages used in business is the group development process published by Bruce Tuckman, a U.S. psychologist, in 1965.
Forming
The initial stage of development is forming. Employees who have come or were assigned together to work in a particular department or on the same project begin to get to know each other and gather the information needed to achieve a common goal. A new situation can be discomforting to the employees, who are trying to define the objective in clear terms and find individual placement, so management support is crucial at this time.
Storming
Storming begins to occur once the team is comfortable with each other and throughout the forming phase. Disagreements and outright conflict begin to emerge among the workers as personalities and ideas about the task-at-hand clash. Control can become an issue, as the employees must begin to assign duties and responsibilities among themselves. Storming typically ends once the employees begin to work out problems and make compromises; supervisory staff may have to step in if the storming phase is prolonged to avoid damage to the team.
Norming
After storming has settled most of the personal differences among the team members, norming begins. Employees begin to focus exclusively on the goal and achieve results. More time is spent making decisions rather than the gathering of information and ideas, and workers may learn new skills and cross train for other duties. Sub teams may be formed to accomplish smaller goals faster.
Performing
Performing is the final stage of team development, when the team is working effectively as a whole and achieving objectives in a consistent and productive manner. The employees become more independent in the performing stage and do not need as much direction from management. Problems are no longer roadblocks, as the team has learned resolve conflict.
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