5 Stages of Terrific Teamwork that Work
Teamwork in organizations is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Teams get together, and even make a little progress. Then, BOOM, they materialize into a nightmare. Before you know it, people want out, conflicts arise, and nothing happens. It seems that everyone talks about the importance of “team” so it’s become a worn out cliché. Together everyone achieves more (T.E.A.M.) is the spoken acronym. Yet, nearly 2/3 of teams falter and fail. Most fall far short of their intended objectives.
You can change that for any team you are a part of or lead. You need to learn content and process for each stage of teamwork development. Content is the what of a team; the details of their work. It involves their goals, plans and expected results. The process is how the people work together. It involves their relationships to collaborate. Also, it includes their efforts to elevate their creativity to exceed the team goals. None of this happens naturally by holding a few meetings.
5 Top Reasons for Terrible Teamwork
Teams are unique organisms possessing the potential to perform amazing work that no single member of the team could ever dream of accomplishing. However, a team doesn’t just happen, rather it is developed. Yet, most managers don’t learn the stages of team development and make the same mistakes over and over. Teams fail because of:
- No goals or plan
- Confusing roles
- Little or no training
- Lack of conflict resolution
- Inconsistent Communication
- Not enough resources
Each of these must be addressed by the leader and team. For example, let’s say the team had been formed to improve a workflow procedure. The team leader must:
- Establish and track goals and plans. Clarify the roles of each team member.
- Conduct team training on planning, communicating, and problem-solving.
- Create a team meeting schedule.
In addition, there needs to be discussions of work expectations, measurement of results, and documentation of team activity. Miss any of these strategies and chances are the workflow team will fail and little will be improved.
5 Stages of Terrific Team-building
Years ago, Dr. Bruce Tuckman created a model of five stages of team development. Many people have added to his stages of team development over the years. Today the same descriptions of the stages still apply. He named them: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourn. We added a reforming for adjourning. Furthermore, each steps requires thoughtful actions and facilitation by the team leader.
The leadership training video will give an overview of the purpose of each stage of effective teamwork. When content and process is followed in each stage the possibility of a successful team greatly rises. In summary, Yale professor H.E. Luccock said, “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.”
Do you want better teamwork? See this eBook: Creating a High Performance Team, 7 Lessons for Team Mastery.
Finally, do you need help transforming your team? Check us out: RCI High Performance Consulting. Or, call for more information – 612-868-8521 or CONTACT RCI.
