During the 'performing' part of the teamwork process, we were no longer intimidated and members of the administrative and billing staff were able to trouble-shoot certain problems with the it department without feeling foolish about their lack of computer know-how -- we were certain we 'knew our stuff' where it counted. During the performance period, after the system was integrated and our input had been taken into consideration, we felt as if we had made a positive contribution to the standard operating procedures of the office, and were 'performing' as a unit once again, without outside assistance as to how to use the new computer system.
Tuckman includes another step in his 'teamwork' process, that of adjourning. This reflects the fact that many teams exist for only a short duration, while in my organization, the office 'team' is smaller, and is meant to work together on a consistent basis. We have already reached the milestone of working autonomously and independently yet in an integrated fashion, and even when we must learn something new and formulate a temporarily new team with outsiders, we can draw on our past experiences with the knowledge members of the office are all always working together towards the same goal. In contrast,...
A very clearly defined goal and initially stronger leadership style may be demanded by those teams. Also, diversity awareness and icebreaking activities are often required to bridge gaps of experience and expectations to create a cohesive team dynamic. Diversity of abilities and backgrounds can be make teams stronger, and in my office, all teams incorporate people with diverse skills that make distinct contributions to every project, but diversity in the context of all work teams must be acknowledged, and gaps in knowledge and miscommunications must be dealt with rather than ignored, so diversity is indeed deployed as a strength.
Works Cited
Heathfield, Susan M. (2008). Twelve tips for team building: How to build successful work teams. About.com. Retrieved 29 Sept 2008 at http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/twelve_tip_team.htm
Tuckman: forming, storming, norming, performing mode. (2008). Businessballs.com.
Retrieved 29 Sept 2008 at http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm
