Team Development

1. Team Defined

You've heard the word team before: "I play on a volleyball team," "my daughter plays on a soccer team." A team is a group of people working together towards a common goal. On any given team, people can share the same roles or have completely different roles. The individual strengths of the team members determine which role each person plays. Ideally, members will have strengths aligned with the goals of the team.

key concept

A team may be as few as two people. There really is no maximum number of people that can be on a team, but generally, fewer than 12 is recommended to maximize the talent of each individual.

term to know

Role

The position and purpose that someone has in an organization, including their work activities and responsibilities.

2. Types of Teams

Strengths of individuals vary quite a bit, so teams can be composed of many different strengths in many different ways. However, for this tutorial, you're going to focus on four types of teams:

• Functional
• Cross-functional
• Problem-solving
• Self-managed

EXAMPLE

An advertising print buyer may be on a team of other advertising print buyers. Everyone has the strength to negotiate print ads. That's what they all do in their primary role.

Cross-functional teams are the opposite of functional teams. These teams are generally comprised of peers who each have a different area of expertise. If you were to imagine a workplace hierarchy, you'd typically find peers listed along the same line, or level. A cross-functional team may be long term, just like a functional one, but it may also be short term, depending on the goal.

Problem-solving teams may have multiple or similar areas of strength. It's really a hybrid of both cross-functional and functional when it comes to an area of strength that the individual is performing. Unlike cross-functional and functional teams, problem-solving teams are only temporary. People from multiple areas of strength come together to achieve a specific task or a specific goal. The types of people that come together for a problem-solving team are really defined by the goal.

big idea

First, you set the goal. Then you organize the right people to achieve that goal.

Just like problem-solving teams, self-managed teams have different areas of expertise or strengths. These people come together from various areas. They each have individual strengths that serve the overall goal, but this type of team works independently. The nature of what they do is autonomous, and they have the freedom to determine their own rules.

term to know

Hierarchy

A list or chart that shows how people are ranked in an organization, typically by the authority or position they hold.

3. Team Development Process

How do teams develop? Psychologist Bruce Tuckman identified five phases of development in 1965:

• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning

people to know

Bruce Tuckman

An American psychologist and researcher who devised Tuckman's Stages of Group Development. He analyzed 55 journal articles describing how groups of people form and develop. His analysis revealed that five stages were prevalent and common to all teams.

In the forming phase, you begin by assessing the strengths of your team and what resources are available to help you reach the established goal. You'll communicate a plan for achieving the goal and develop any needed roles and hierarchies, depending on the type of team.

Storming is the stage when you might see some individuals resisting the plan or the structure developed in the forming stage. There may be some competition within the team for certain positions, and the team might experience some discomfort in figuring out their individual roles.

did you know

Unfortunately, many teams fail and disassemble in the storming stage.

If the team makes it past storming, the next stage is norming—when the team starts to come together and gain momentum. Notice the dramatic rise in the line graph above during norming.

Performing is when the team members work effectively and efficiently together. Everyone is moving toward the same goal. Everything comes together, and the team has learned the process of resolving conflict.

Adjourning is when the team dissolves, either because the goal has been achieved or because of other external factors.

IN CONTEXT

Forming:
Imagine that you're a successful restaurant owner. Your customer base is growing quickly, but you can't afford to move to a larger space yet to accommodate the growth. You decide to organize a food truck to solve the problem as a short-term solution. This is a temporary situation designed to address a specific need.

You appoint your spouse to manage the finances and set the pricing on the food that you're going to sell.

Next, you hire your friend, Triny. She's a big foodie, and she loves to bake high-quality foods from scratch. This is exactly the culinary talent you need to launch your food truck.

Finally, you bring in your children to work the truck window. They'll sell the food and take payments from customers.

Storming:
Triny needs to buy some high-quality ingredients, but your spouse says that the price that you've set isn't going to allow for them. You're going to need to compromise a bit on quality. Through strong communication, this conflict is resolved, and you're going to reach that norming stage.

Norming:
This is when you're all going to start to come together. The goals of the food truck become clearer and any problems you encounter now don't seem so large. The team is able to focus on serving great food.

Performing:
Efficiency is high and everything is going well because the team is on the same page. You're all working toward that shared goal of handling the new customer volume with the same level of quality and speed.

Adjourning:
Finally, your team is planning to dissolve in the adjourning stage. Arrangements have been made for the larger restaurant space and the food truck can be retired. The team came together to reach its goal, and everyone did a great job in the process!