It is natural and normal for a team to underperform when it comes together for the first time. Members of a team go through an array of demanding stages and in the process, encounter compromising scenarios, which involves working with strangers to attain a common goal (Verma, 1995). In order for any team to realize an improve in performance, attain goals and objectives, overcome challenges, and complete projects faster, they need to follow Bruce Tuckman's forming, storming, norming, and performing model.
In the forming stage, most members are usually positive and others get excited by the whole notion of coming together to complete a task; however some members tend to display independent behaviors to avoid controversy. Some are anxious because of the uncertainty and lack of understanding of the task that lies ahead of them (Verma, 1995). In this stage the team needs to learn about the challenges and opportunities, and they all have to agree on the goals and the objectives that they should achieve. The team leader needs to make sure every member contributes and understands the purposes of the group, delegate duties to members, discuss possible challenges and how to overcome them, and make sure there are enough resources for the team to realize its goal.
Storming is the second stage of team formation. In this stage there is a high rate of competition and conflict. The exhibition of this behavior occurs because team members are familiar with each other and the task they should do, thus gaining confidence in tackling critical issues within the team like general group tasks or assigned roles and responsibilities. In this stage more dominant team members emerge, some express their opinions and question the decisions made by the leader. There are some members who may still be conservative and suppress their opinions; however, this does not mean that issues may not exist (Verma, 1995). At this stage the leader needs to lay out proper guidelines and offer complete clarification about any uncertainty. The members should raise any queries they may have at this stage and should respect the leader and help them tackle critical issues when they need assistance.
After the leader and team members resolve any disagreements they were facing, they realize strong intimacy and grow into a cohesive unit thus embracing the third stage of team formation known as the norming stage. In this stage members usually acknowledge the task assigned to them and they emulate a drive to gain success. Team members start to compromise and tolerate the differences between them. They acknowledge the different skills and talents that each member possesses and uses for the benefit of the group (Verma, 1995). In this stage members show a strong will to adapt to the needs of the group, however the leader should make sure that members are not afraid to share ideas even if they are controversial because they might spur conflict
The fourth stage of group formation is known as the performing stage. In this stage there is high productivity as team members focus on realizing success through working hard on their common goals. The members at this stage are knowledgeable and are able to make helpful decisions without supervision (Verma, 1995). At this point the leaders can assign their work to members so that they can have enough time for developing group members for maximum participation and speed the rate of achieving their goal or finishing a project. Members find it easy to be part of the team and they work in harmony.
The fifth stage of group formation is known as the adjourning stage. This stage marks the end of the project and the reflection of how the team members have interacted since the beginning of the project. The leader should make sure that the best practices experienced in the project are noted for future use and remember to hold a celebration event for the members for their contribution and success of the project (Verma, 1995). This allows members to say their farewells to each other as reaching step five means they developed an attachment and thus would feel sad when separating.
References
Verma, V. K. (1995). The Human Aspects of Project Management. Upper Darby, Pa: Project Management Institute.
