Teams - Effective Team Management

¶ … teams - Effective team management

What is the difference between a group of people and a team? While a group is merely a collection of individuals, a team is created for a specific purpose -- either to win a game, or to realize a strategic management objective like building a house. However, building a team is a process, it is not something that is accomplished simply by bringing people into the same room, apportioning tasks and giving them a common deadline for a project.

According to the team management theorist Bruce Tuckman, all teams proceed through a series of stages that Tuckman calls forming, storming, norming and performing. The formative stage is when all of the team members are still feeling their way, reserved and hesitant. They may know why they have been included on the team, but feel uncertain as to the role of others, or the general mission of the team. It is essential during this phase that the team's standard operating procedures are generated to maximize efficiency and to encourage 'icebreaking' activities. Team members must get to know one another, not simply on a functional level, but also in terms of their personalities. Are the team members introverted? Extroverted? Are the members thinking or feeling types by nature, do they go with their gut, or are they more analytical? The team establishes its interdependence during this phase, as well as defines its individual components. The team may discuss its mission, or simply play 'getting to know you' games, or even take and share the results of personality tests.

Depending on the team's personalities, the storming phase can be very rocky. This is when members of the team jockey for their leadership positions, or try to determine how the team will come to decisions. For a small, three-person team, decision-making consensus would be ideal, although depending on the nature of the level of expertise of the various members, one individual may be designated more of a leader than other members on key decisions. or, members may have specific areas of leadership expertise, and various leadership responsibilities of the project are delegated according to those areas of expertise. If things are especially stormy, having clear, short-term deadlines and objectives, and procedures for meetings that are fair and strictly observed can keep unhealthy interpersonal conflicts to a minimum. If any conflicts ensue, they should be about the task, not the person.

The 'norming' phase is when members begin to have a feeling of belonging to something larger and more important than their immediate selves. A sense of cohesiveness develops, and the team can afford to be slightly informal. Team members may become more flexible about roles and more creative in their responses to challenges. "Finally, the group attains the fourth and final stage in which interpersonal structure becomes the tool of task activities. Roles become flexible and functional, and group energy is channeled into the task. Structural issues have been resolved, and structure can now become supportive of task performance" (Smith 2005).