The fifth stage of group development, also known as the mourning stage, is the final stage a team will go through. After a project is over or if a team is disbanded, team members who worked together will go into a small mourning period. Group members may have a hard time working with other groups as they had strong group dynamics with their previous team. This is the stage when things begin to settle down as your team finds their groove.

Not every team moves through these stages in order and various activities such as adding a new team member can send the team back to an earlier stage. The length of time necessary for progressing through these stages depends on the experience of the members, the knowledge and skill of the team members, and the support the team receives. Your team members are taking themselves and each other seriously. They have moved beyond understanding differences to valuing them and leveraging individual strengths. At this point, leadership can shift among team members and is flexible to the situation at hand.

Like what you’re reading? SUBSCRIBE to get FREE updates on ThoughtHub content.

By starting with a free trial, you have the freedom to learn as much as possible about the product before committing to it. In the performing stage, teams are in sync and work more efficiently together than at any previous stage. Teams that have been working closely for some time have resolved enough issues to understand what success looks like for them. For example, success can be anything from higher customer acquisition to a positive shift in the metrics they’re tracking. To accommodate your remote teams and to make sure your first project team meeting is productive, use a video conferencing platform like Zoom. This way team members can meet from anywhere and share their screen so that everyone can see the project details simultaneously.

At the same time, they may also feel some anxiety, wondering how they will fit in to the team and if their performance will measure up. Eric Douglas is the senior partner and founder of Leading Resources Inc., a consulting firm that focuses on developing high-performing organizations. For more than 20 years, Eric has successfully helped a wide array of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporations achieve breakthroughs in performance.

Select Learning Topic

The intuitive mind allows individuals to identify what they’re feeling. Often the logical mind works within defined biases https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ or other constraints. Bruce Tuckman was a Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at Ohio State University.

• An organized and experienced coach is definitely a plus in making the steps flow along from one stage to another smoothly.
• Your team asks questions formulated in ways that are rooted in emotional intelligent practices.
• By developing your own leadership skills, you can model collaboration best practices and help your team reach their fullest potential.
• Conversely, when leaders recognize that every team needs some time and TLC to grow into a functional unit, good things tend to follow.
• Of course, no good leader will let the conflict go on too long, and this is the challenge that the team leader must face – to intervene or to abdicate.

For example, if you’re working cross-functionally, the individuals from one team are assigned the role of reporting back to their team what they’re working on. Another individual may be responsible for managing status updates. This is also the time in which teams can celebrate everything they have achieved together. Take the time to reflect on your achievements and remind your team why they’re doing what they do. This is also a great opportunity to recognize and praise the talents of specific team members.

Leadership from the Proverbs: The Wisdom of Humility

Helpful tools include having the right technology and accurate metrics to measure team performance—as well as knowing how to throw a good party. In the Performing stage, the team makes significant progress towards its goals. Commitment to the team’s mission is high and the competence of team members is also high. Team members should continue to deepen their knowledge and skills, including working to continuously improving team development. Accomplishments in team process or progress are measured and celebrated.

Everyone plays a critical role in meeting the goal since each has a unique skill set. Each stage of team development doesn’t necessarily take just as much time as the one that comes after it, nor the one before it. In the performing stage, you’ll notice fluidity with communication and overall conversations. This is demonstrated through high morale, productivity and engagement. Leadership decisions, individual work habits, and communication lapses during the storming stage can create tension within a team. Team members need to learn to use conflict positively so that it doesn’t slow or hinder their progress.

get team-building content curated for you and delivered monthly.

The danger here is that members may be so focused on preventing conflict that they are reluctant to share controversial ideas. The principal work for the team during the Forming stage is to create a team with clear structure, goals, direction and roles so that members begin to build trust. During the Forming stage, much of the team’s energy is focused on defining the team so task accomplishment may be relatively low. During the Forming stage of team development, team members are usually excited to be part of the team and eager about the work ahead. Members often have high positive expectations for the team experience.

In this article, we discuss the different stages of team development and how leaders can guide their team through those stages to increase collaboration. Supervisors of the team during this phase are almost always participating. Even the most high-performing teams will revert to earlier stages in certain circumstances.

ways to build rapport and develop meaningful relationships

Your teams will soon learn that conflict is not to be feared, and that they have the tools to find a productive compromise. It’s been a few weeks, and your team has gotten to know one another. The problem is, they’re coming up what are the four stages of team development against harsh deadlines, and mistakes have been made along the way. As a result, you’ll establish yourself as a leader of a team rooted in transparency and trust while you communicate clear expectations and team principles.

Tolerance of each team member and their differences should be emphasized; without tolerance and patience the team will fail. This phase can become destructive to the team and will lower motivation if allowed to get out of control. Some teams will never develop past this stage; however, disagreements within the team can make members stronger, more versatile, and able to work more effectively together.

Scenario: You’re leading your team through the performing stage

Natural talent will only get one so far in the real world, however. Rickards and Moger proposed a similar extension to the Tuckman model when a group breaks out of its norms, through a process of creative problem-solving. Ultimately, the goal is to make sure you can provide psychological safety as a baseline, evaluate team patterns of behaviour and notice when you’re in a negative cycle. This is indicated through the project stage which is either completed or very nearly there. They feel confident and comfortable when approaching you with concerns and questions. After the storming stage, they recognize behavioural patterns, strengths and develop foresight for upcoming roadblocks.