Stages of Team Development
The four primary stages of team development include forming, storming, norming, and performing. Bruce Tuckman developed the group or team development model in 1965 to illustrate how teams form, develop, function, and grow in an efficient manner. Forming is the first stage of team development that involves the formation of the team and the gathering of the members. The forming phase comprises uncertainty and anxiety mainly because of the perceptions of the members. Most team members are polite, anxious, and excited regarding the objectives of the team and future endeavors. The members avoid confrontation and conflict along with personal opinions and exercise caution in their behavior for acceptance by other members. The leaders play a vital role in the first stage because the responsibilities and functions of the members are unclear or vague. Storming is the second stage of team development that involves the discussions, debates, and meetings of the members regarding group objectives and tasks. The second phase is the most critical step because it requires a significant amount of competition and conflict due to personal opinions. Most teams fail during the storming stage mainly because the differences or disparities in opinion, behaviors, and viewpoints.
Norming is the third stage of team development and involves the clarification of roles and responsibilities of all members. The team members resolve their differences and conflicts and start operating as a cohesive entity towards the efficient accomplishment of team objectives (Daft 611). The norming phase involves a sense of community, and all members acknowledge the skills, abilities, experience, and talents of other members. Performing is the fourth stage of team development and comprises the optimal performance of the team in the context of group objectives. The performing step involves the highest level of productivity in the team development process along with a high degree of trust and coordination. The team development process also includes a fifth and final stage called adjourning that involves the culmination of the team due to the accomplishment of objectives and conflicts. Many teams also suspend due to the termination of the intended time frame or period of the team.
Benefits of Strong Team Skills
Team skills play a vital role in professional and organizational environments regardless of the nature and type of job or task. Strong team skills can benefit an individual in coping with the challenges of teamwork and avoiding conflicts stemming from disparities in opinions, values, beliefs, and perceptions. On the other hand, team skills allow individuals to participate in teams in an efficient and productive manner rather than experiencing disagreements and clashes. The teamwork skills can be a useful tool for a medical assistant at a doctor’s office due to the collaboration with an array of individuals. The medical assistant can use teamwork skills to coordinate with other employees in specific tasks or goals. For example, the medical assistant can utilize teamwork skills to work in an efficient manner with the administrative staff to enhance productivity, health outcomes, and quality of service. The medical assistant can also use teamwork skills to expedite and improve patient care by improving documentation and other activities relevant to patient needs or requirements.
Ineffective teamwork in a medical care setup would negatively affect the entire process within a hospital. Different doctors believe that proper teamwork is essential to attain proactive results. Patients also feel relaxed when they witness team coordination and proactive communication between different members of the team. Instances occur when conflicts arise and in such scenario patients suffer, as they cannot attain proper support from the health care staff. Medical assistant not only help the doctor in different medicinal process, but it helps the doctors in different patient management scenario and provide proactive help towards managing the data. Teamwork and team management skills would benefit the entire organization in the longer-run. Participating in a virtual meeting
Virtual meetings and coordination with team members virtually is a common scenario these days. Virtual meetings are not a waste of time and they are very effective than different traditional meetings. People do not have to travel and incur any costs while conducting these meetings. Effective web conferences, teleconferences, webinars, etc. provide a great opportunity for different people to build and enhance the level of trust amongst each other (Ferrazzi). However, organizations should decide that whether they should organize face-to-face meetings and when they should opt for virtual meetings.
Participating in face-to-face meetings are relatively different than virtual meetings. One of the basic differences is that people are not physically present in online meetings. The participants are present virtually through different software and communicational mediums. Another important difference is that couple of people cannot give their feedback in online meetings and people have to wait for their turn. Although this happens in real time meetings too, but in certain scenarios people couple of people can participate in a discussion in a single go. Similarly, distractions should be minimized while participating in online meetings.
Works Cited
Daft, Richard. L. Management. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2013.
Ferrazzi, Keith. How to Run a Great Virtual Meeting. 27 March 2015. 17 July 2016 <https://hbr.org/2015/03/how-to-run-a-great-virtual-meeting>.
