Developing Teams

Throwing managers together rarely creates a high functioning team, yet many organizations follow that process and expect things to "work out". Sometimes reorganizations or changes in the make-up of the leadership team create the need to re-form an existing team or create a new team. It is important to understand that teams develop over time and can be influenced in their development by leaders and the methodology used to form the team. Appreciative Inquiry's 4D model aids in the development of a team by forming a positive foundation and building on that firm foundation.

The stages of team development are well documented and usually happen in sequence although sometimes there may be overlap or regression depending on the relative health of the team.

Forming - The forming stage of development is a period of orientation and getting acquainted. Team  members find out what behavior is acceptable to others, explore friendship possibilities, and determine task orientation. uncertainty is high because the ground rule norms have not been established and what is expected of them. Members will normally whatever power and authority is offered by formal and informal leaders. Leaders need to make team members comfortable and make sure all have a voice. Teams already in conflict that need to be re-formed need to focus on things in common and speak into what the concerns are in the group. Appreciative Inquiry helps in the forming stage by recalling what has called the team together and the strengths of the team.

Storming - During the storming stage, individual personalities emerge more clearly. People become more assertive in clarifying their roles. This stage is marked by conflict and disagreement. The team may disagree about the team's mission and goals. This team is characterized by general lack of unity and cohesiveness. It is essential that teams move beyond this stage or they will never achieve high performance. Teams already in conflict that are in this stage are particularly challenging to deal with as they have formed individual and splinter group positions that may be hardened. There is a need to express emotions, even negative ones, that builds camaraderie and a shared understanding of goals and tasks.

Norming - At the norming stage conflict has been resolved and team unity and harmony emerge. Consensus develops as to who the natural team leaders are, and the member's roles are clear. Team members come to understand and accept each other. Differences are resolved, and members develop a sense of cohesiveness. This stage is usually relatively short lived and moves to the productive next stage.

Performing - During the performing stage, the major emphasis is on accomplishing the team's goals. members are committed to the team's mission. They interact frequently, coordinate their actions, and handle disagreements in a mature, productive manner. Team members confront and resolve problems in the interest of task completion. At this stage the leader becomes a facilitator of success in reaching goals.

Adjourning/Re-forming - Celebrate successes by telling stories! The adjourning stage is when the team mission has been accomplished and the team is dis-banded and re-formed in another team or placed back in their functional assignment. In on-going teams, like leadership teams their should periodically be an intentional re-forming usually when the make up of the team has changes through a loss of a key member, or the environment has changed that the team faces causes a serious challenge, or the goals of the team/ organization has changed meaningfully.

The Appreciative Inquiry 4D model helps guide the organization through this team development.