The Five Stages of Team Development free essay sample

1. Background theory The theory of Tuckman (1965) ‘five stages of team development’ is based on the process of a group coming together, getting to know each other, developing a group dynamic and after all working together as a whole team where everyone benefits from each other. The five stages start with  ´forming ´, this stage means the very first moment the team meets each other, so at this moment they have not met each other and they have no expectations of each other but rather they are there to learn about each other, like Gina Abudi (2010) says in her case study they are  ´feeling each other out ´. Moreover in the second stage  ´storming ´, the team already knows each other however they still need to compete for their status. They have already began to work together but they are still finding each other ´s place in the group. At this moment the role of the team leader is essential as he/she needs to control the situation and make sure that everyone feels accepted, equal a nd understood. We will write a custom essay sample on The Five Stages of Team Development or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the third stage  ´norming ´, the team starts to work as a group already. They are not competing with each other but now the goal is clearer for them and every person in the team wants to reach it as effectively as possible, therefore the team is co-operating a lot and looking for cohesion. Furthermore in the fourth stage  ´performing ´, the group is functioning perfectly and no disruptions are happening. There is a golden path everyone follows and all the work and co-operation is done smoothly with trust and respect. At this moment, if there is a problem/conflict there is no need for the team leader to get involved, the group will solve it by themselves. Lastly, the fifth stage  ´adjourning ´, is the last stage when everyone is evaluating themselves and each other. They start to feel the belonging however they know that everyone will go their own ways. At this moment every team member would decide for themselves who they would want to work with in the future. At the last stage a goodbye party is often held by the team leader where everyone can eva luate the project together and have fun. Scenario I have chosen to use the case study for my scenario analysis. I have assumed that Mohammed has continued on non-communication at the 3rd  ´norming ´ stage.  This has created a lot of frustration among the whole team and the team leader, Sandra, has decided to quit her job as she could not handle the situation anymore. So now the team is with Peter, Sarah, Mohammed, Donna and Ameya. They all know each other ´s skills but are not progressing as Mohammed is not co-operating, which means that they have fallen back to the storming stage where they are competing with each other on who would be the next team leader. Peter, with the most experience stands up and starts to control the team. However the rest of the group think that Mohammed should still communicate more and even Peter is not able to get a hold of him. They are still stuck on the same stage. Moreover by voting they have decided to get a new team leader in order to proceed in this project effectively, even though it means that they would start from the beginning  ´forming ´ stage as there would be a new person coming in, they still think that it is worthwhile risking, as there is a big need for a strong team leader. After all they have fallen back one step again, dropping from the norming stage they are back to the forming stage with a new leader. However at this point, as fast as they have got to known their team leader and she has got to known them and the issues in the team have been announced to her, they can jump back to the norming stage as no competing is required anymore. From this point on, the new team leader has everything under control and she is paying extra attention to Mohammed ´s interaction with the rest of the group. Slowly they start to develop a good team which can rely on each other and even Mohammed has got his feet on the ground. The performing stage is rather a big improvement from what they were and in the adjourning phase they have a lot to evaluate as a group. After all they all seemed to have good time, and the new team leader brought in a lot of confidence. Especially for Mohammed the adjourning phase, when he looks back to his actions is a lesson learnt. Even though he has a lot of experience he just reminds himself that he always needs someone else to mind about him in order for him to interact with others. He trusts himself too much with 8 years of experience.