Stage

Explanation

Items to consider

• People are uncertain and anxious about the boundaries and their place in the team
• There may also be a lot of excitement as everything is new and fun
• Attempts are made to establish team roles and responsibilities and understand the overall goals
• There is more concern for individual objectives

• Be clear about team goals
• Agree individual objectives.
• Establish communication strategies
• Create Project Plan that includes a communications strategy, identifies roles and responsibilities
• Select a project management method
• Spend some time in team building activities, encouraging team members to get to know one another

Storming

• Most likely stage when conflict will arise as disagreements emerge over task and/or strategic issue.
• Focus may turn to ‘other’s problems. Relationships are the focus of this stage of the process
• Levels of trust may be low and members may be reluctant to be open and honest

• Continue team building activities
• Establish a conflict resolution strategy
• Promote open and honest communication. Ensure all members views are being heard, not just those of the most extrovert members
• Resolve conflicts that arise promptly or team members may become frustrated or disillusioned

• A smoothing over period, where relationships are good and members are all working to agreed strategies
• Good progress is made towards achieving project goals
• The focus is on ‘getting the job done’; members begin to trust the process and each other
• Open and honest communication exists

• Maintain group input into decision making process
• Perform evaluations of individual and team effectiveness
• Aim to maintain motivation and momentum
• Leadership style is one of facilitation with greater degrees of delegation

• Team members strive to make the most of team relationships and effective working practices to complete the project goals
• If all has gone well to this stage, members have learned to trust one another
• The focus turns to self development, using the learning gained from participating in the project and team working
• The team flourishes and targets are reached regularly and effectively

• Success to this point results in a state of synergy existing
• Management may take the form of coaching as the team dynamics operate smoothly
• Celebrating successful completion of milestones will maintain momentum
• This is the point to reap the benefits of knowledge creation, not just transfer. However, remember that team development is a never ending task
• Encourage constructive feedback

• This is the period prior to the completion of the project, when team members will be going their separate ways
• There may be some sadness and uncertainty around

• This is an important part of the process. It is a time to reflect on what went well, what didn’t and identify improvements for the future. All team members should be encouraged to participate fully
• Provide an opportunity for team members to share their feelings about the whole process and the end of the project
• Ending on a positive note will enable members to move on quickly and effectively