| ...teams are
not always expected to progress in a linear fashion through all of the stages |
The
classical model of team/group development described in the previous section suggests that
teams develop in a linear fashion, through a sequence of phases. Some recent
investigations of work groups indicate that teams develop through a variety of alternative
paths rather than a single sequence of developmental phases. This line of research
developed around studies of the life-span development of naturally occurring task-driven
work groups in organizations. In
a modified model of team development, the stages of development are considered to be
relatively informal, indistinct, and overlapping, because sharp demarcations are not
generally characteristic of the dynamic situations in which operational teams work and
develop. |
| . |
A
team's progression through the stages depends on a number of factors: |
| . |
(1) team characteristics,
(2) team member characteristics,
(3) team members' past histories and
experiences with one another,
(4) the nature of the tasks and the
technologies available to complete them, and
(5) the environmental demands and
constraints.
|
| ...from initial
ineptness to final levels of skilled performance |
Teams
develop (generally) from initial ineptness and exploratory interactions to the final
levels of skilled performance that are manifested as team members learn to cooperate and
coordinate their efforts effectively. |
| . |
A total of nine stages may be identified:
1. Pre-forming stage that
recognizes the forces from the environment that call for, and contribute to, the
establishment of the team; that is, forces external to the team that cause the team to be
formed
2. Formation of the team during its
first meeting (forming)
3. Members' initial, and sometimes
unstable, exploration of the situation (storming)
4. Initial efforts toward
accommodation and the formation and acceptance of roles (norming)
5. Performance leading toward
occasional inefficient patterns of performance (performing-I)
6. Reevaluation and transition
(reforming)
7. Refocusing of efforts to produce
effective performance (performing-II)
8. Completion of team assignments
(conforming)
9. The team is disbanded. Team
members leave the group and the team loses its identity and ceases to exist. Individuals
return to the organizational sectors from which they were initially drawn or move to new
territories and relationships.
|
| The development
of a team might be recycled from any of the final stages to an earlier stage... |
The
development of a team might be recycled from any of the final stages to an earlier stage
if necessitated by a failure to achieve satisfactory performance or if adjustments to
environmental demands are required or if problematic team interactions develop.
A modified team development model
suggests that team development is characterized by the differential maturation of taskwork
and teamwork skills.
|
| ...two
distinguishable activity tracks -- taskwork and
teamwork. |
Individual
taskwork skills, (no matter how great) may be relatively useless without the cooperative,
coordinated, and supporting efforts of others where group or team performances are
required. Team
development includes the existence of two distinguishable activity tracks -- taskwork and
teamwork. |
| . |
|
| . |
TASKWORK-ORIENTED
BEHAVIORS
The first of these tracks involves
activities that are tied to the specific task(s) being performed. These activities
encompass operational skills. This includes interactions of the team members with tools
and machines, the technical aspects of the job (procedures, policies, etc.), and other
task-related activities.
|
| . |
TEAMWORK-ORIENTED BEHAVIORS
The second track of activities is
devoted to enhancing the quality of the interactions, interdependencies, relationships,
affects, cooperation, and coordination of the team. This track is important for generating
group cohesion and organizational commitment, and for sustaining the integrity and
viability of the team.
A substantial portion of the energies
devoted to building better teams can be accounted for in terms of activities that are
aimed at people (other team members) and relationships. The coordination demands of a team
require team members to engage in person-to-person activities designed to enhance
interpersonal communications, social relationships, and interaction patterns (the
maturation and maintenance of the team as a cohesive unit). As the team develops, its
ability to communicate, coordinate, and interact should improve, and this contributes to
its enhanced viability as a group and to better team performance.
|
| . |
COORDINATING
A TEAM'S TASKWORK AND TEAMWORK BEHAVIORS
In order for teams to achieve optimum
levels of performance, the taskwork and teamwork lines of team development must be
separately enhanced, progressively focused, and ultimately converged so that all
activities contribute to improved team viability and performance. Team training should
seek not only to improve the formally programmed task performance but also to enhance the
team's ability to communicate, relate, and interact.
|
