Specifics of Team Development - Essay Example

Running Head: TEAM DEVELOPMENT Team Development [Writer’s Name] [Institution’s Name] Team Development These days organizations do not believe in individual projects, they divide their employees into teams, as it becomes easier to achieve their goals. Each team is given a target and all the members work to achieve it Teams are an important part of a productive organization, as they enhance an environment in which employees work together to achieve the organizational goals. Team development is the most essential part a good team. To form a good team, firstly one should analyze the true meaning of a team. A Team is group of individuals who work to together to obtain a common goal. For effective team development the members have to know exactly what kind of team they are. Meaning what are the goals, what is each member’s role and who needs to work close with whom. In order to develop a highly productive team four stages have to be followed. They are forming, storming, norming and performing. In forming the team is formed, it is the initial stage of team development. Each member is cautious and avoids conflict. They should give uncomplicated ideas, communicate properly, and keep away from controversy and intense discussion topic (Suzanne 1993 p44). After forming the team the second stage of team development is storming. This second stage is the toughest stage and is also the most important stage (Mackin 2007 p45). The members in this stage usually give their views or opinions about the topic under consideration and during team discussions and meetings they criticize the ideas of other members. Thus the members in this stage give only their own views and are not ready to listen to others. The members are so strong headed about their own ideas that they may even challenge their team leader. Emotions of all members in this stage are quite intense, due to which they exhibit very little teamwork and compete for control. Depending on the position of an individual in the team and in the organization he might either withdraw from conflicts or might use it as an opportunity to compete and dominate (Heermann 1997 p30). In this stage the existing leadership of the team might be openly challenged. During this stage there is a good chance that due to the high friction between the members within the group the group breaks up. Understandably, most groups that fail to evolve into teams never progress beyond this stage. The third stage of team development which the team goes through is norming. in this stage the team begins to organize themselves. As the group undergoes a transition from the earlier stage of turbulence, there is a marked shift in attitude towards teamwork, from competition to collaboration (John& William 1994 p12). The team members start to listen attentively to the ideas of other team members thus there is receptiveness to the ideas of others. The members in this stage do not fight for authority in fact they share the leadership. As they start to work together they adopt a methodical and systematic way of working; in which there is active participation by all. In this stage they are ready to change their preconceived views by exchanging ideas with other team members. If any conflict has risen in the team it becomes an issue of the entire team, and they work together to resolve. It can be said that self-disclosure is exercised. In this stage, the members come to know how beneficial it is to work together as a team. Though this is a marked improvement from the previous stage of storming this is not all a stage in which the team can achieve its goals.S (Suzanne 1993 p 32). The fourth and last stage of team development is performing. In this particular stage, the members begin to become loyal to the team. Trust is the key element in this stage and the group is less dependent on structure, individuality is at its peak mainly because there is a lot of trust amongst the members. Individual contribution is no longer seen as a threat, but as a unique talent that can be used to push up the performance of the group as a whole (Ammeter etal 1993 p 34). Team members in this stage are extremely involved in their work; all the members use their creativity to the maximum. They exhibit sincerity and dependence with other members of the team due to which a kind of joint leadership is developed. All the members by the last stage have developed a good understanding, and thus they have learned to accept each other. The team members readily review its successes and failures and seek to continuously improve their performance. This process of transition of a group into a team cannot be forced- it is not something that can only be done by the group members themselves (Pegg 1997 p 27). Moving from the forming to the storming phase requires letting go of comfortable discussion and starting to take real risks and share real feelings-thereby risking personal attacks. The transition from storming to norming phase requires individuals to start listening to others and thus be more open (Heermann 1997 p15). Finally the progress from the norming to the performing stage requires the individuals to build a high degree of trust in other members and in the leader of the group (Pegg 1994 p 17). .Also a group might get held up in a particular stage in its development. There are many factors which may lead a team to achieve their goals. First of all they need to improve the relationship between the members of the team. It is very important to be in a good relationship with other team members. The fact is that conflict is not suppressed. Team members are may their express negative feelings, thoughts and discords within the team. Dealing with a conflict between the team members is a way to improve team performance. Team members should daily discuss all problems, negative thoughts, their misunderstandings and find a wise solution (Singer 2002p89). It means they should give and receive feedback to each other in order to identify common goals, to know everybody’s point of view, and to understand each others working preferences. Additionally, it can be useful to organize some social activities like team meal, celebratory drink, family days, theatre or concerts and sport activities. Then it also can be useful to organize work activities such as regular team meeting, job swapping, team newsletter and some seminars (John& William 1994 p20). These activities can improve the relationship between the team members. Effective communication is also very important to develop a team. Communication is the transfer of meaning, information, thought and feeling (Aspatore Books Staff 1996 p 3). It is important for teams to find simple ways of improving communications within the team. Good communication skills are vital for a successful team. This not only includes communication between team members but also between the team and the organization. The point is that everyone has valuable ideas; everyone is an expert in some sphere and everyone has some kind of talent. Every of one these points should be developed within the team. Moreover, communication can also help in developing the team member’s trust amongst each other and the organization. Team trust guarantees the team members become friendly and open to each other. Another important factor of successful team development is the motivation. Motivation is a complex area. It is different for everyone. Each person is motivated by different things. That’s why it is important to find the right way to motivate each team member and team as a whole. Some people are motivated by the possibility to make its own decision-making (Singer 2001 p 90). It would be wise to give this opportunity to this kind of person and show that he or she is being trusted. Of course with consensus that the every process of their decision-making can be improved. Some team members maybe motivated by comfortable environment. For example, when they are meeting for a conference or training course, they are feeling uncomfortable. Even if they know each other, they feel uncomfortable in every new situation. (Ammete etal 2003 p3) Activities and games are a great method of motivation because people break down the barriers and it help to develop relationships as well. Lastly, some team members are motivated by strict methods (Aspatore Books Staff 1996 p15). It means that they prefer to be under control, get feed back regarding their work, and it helps them get motivated. Building and developing a team which is highly productive is an art. A high performing team always trust each other and are open to other’s ideas. The team works together to achieve a particular target. However the team can only function effectively if it is properly build and developed. If there are any issues in any of the stages of development then the team will not be successful in achieving their goal. References Ammeter, Anthony P. Dukerich, Janet M. (2002); Leadership, Team Building, and Team Member Characteristics in High Performance Project Teams Engineering Management Journal; Vol. 14 Issue 4, p3 -35 Aspatore Books Staff (2006), Managing the Human Resources Team: Leading HR Executives on Motivating Team Members, Creating an Effective Work Environment, and Achieving a Vision. Aspatore Books. pp3-15 Heermann Barry (1997); Building team spirit, McGraw Hill pp15-30 John E. Jones, William L Bearley (1994); Team Book: 27 Exercises for Enhancing Work Groups, Organizational Universe Groups p12-23 Mackin Deborah (2007); Team-Building Tool Kit, The: Tips And Tactics For Effective Workplace Teams AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn ‎ p45 Pegg M. (1994.); Positive Leadership – How to Build a Winning Team. San Diego CA, Pfeiffer & Co, p17-29 Singer Lynn (2001); The Team Book, Sprit Direct p89-90 Suzanne W. Zoglio (1993); Teams at Work 7 Keys to Success Tower Hill Press p32 -56 Read More