A happy and productive team is an essential ingredient in delivering success for any business. Whilst most businesses are aware of the benefits of positive team morale, few of them are aware of the four stages of team building required for successful business team development: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.
Bruce Tuckman's Four Phases of Team Building describe the path that teams often take to achieve high performance in their job role. Following these four phases of team building ensures effective business team development through progressive team building that avoids common dysfunctions that can develop between teams. Even for an established team, it is important to review the four phases of team building to maintain morale and cohesion and therefore maintain successful performance. Here we look at the four phases of team building and how they can be accomplished in your office.
Forming
This is the stage during which co-workers get to know each other and build the trust which is essential for good individual relationships. When a new team forms, it is important for the team to have a purpose which enables them to understand how they fit in. An absence of trust and direction will mean that teammates are not open with each other, will be unable to agree on strategy and operate less efficiently as they are unwilling to share tasks. Be patient, this may take longer than you think.
Storming
This is the stage at which teams address how they will function as a team, including issues of leadership. The potential for conflict at this stage, especially over issues of leadership mean it is essential that team’s establish good relationships and trust during the forming stage of team building. Ensure roles and responsibilities are clear to reduce the risk of employees getting frustrated by the lack progress.
Norming
As teams move from the storming stage, team members will begin to appreciate each other’s strengths and respect you as a leader. This Stage of Team Building involves the agreement of how to divide required work and what role each team member is to play in the accomplishment of the team’s goals. Neglecting the ‘storming phase of team building will result in an ad hoc assignment of tasks in which team members perform random disconnected tasks that fail to take into account their strengths and weaknesses. The norming stage usually involves a lot of commitment to the team goals as your progress further.
Performing
This final phase of team building is the stage at which teams are actually working on the project itself or the everyday functioning of a team. This stage requires teams to be actively helping and encouraging each other and holding team mates to account.
Bruce Tuckman’s four stages of team building are vital to establish the relationships, trust, understanding and coordination of roles and tasks required for successful performance.
Achieving the Four Phases of Team Building
Understanding the four phases listed above is helpful in managing both the development of newly formed teams and the ongoing and successful performance of established teams. It is important to determine where your team is in order to figure out how to improve. Work your way through the relevant stages and schedule regular reviews to see how you're progressing. The most important thing is to be patient. Teams can alternate between phases, so please understand.
How can team building activities strengthen your team?
Using fun and engaging team building activities outside of the team work environment can build strong bonds and ensure that you can work together more emotionally. When building new teams, it is more important than ever to implement all four phases from the beginning with the training phase. This guarantees a stronger bond.
PINGPONG MOMENTS is a leading Employee Engagement Company; we offer a wide range of team activities for all groups. From events that require strong technical and analytical skills to events that require the highest levels of creativity, there is something for everyone.
Team building activities promote problem solving, communication, and leadership in an encouraging and supportive environment. Our Team building activities are designed to be fun and motivating, so they are a great way to build relationships and become familiar with the strengths of others. The fun, pressure-free environment helps normalization, assault, and performance by requiring teams to collaborate and perform in a pressure-free environment.
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