What? When it comes to forming teams, there are many ways of doing it. When creating a workplace team, you must go through group development, which has five different steps. That’s according to Group Dynamics for Teams by Levi: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Forming is: “Orientation: members getting to know one another.” Storming is: “Conflict: disagreement about roles and procedures.” Norming is: “Structure: establishment of rules and social relationships.” Performing: “Work: focus on completing the task.” And adjourning is: “Dissolution: completion of task and end of the group.” (Levi). Following these simple steps will help you create a functioning, focused team. Another major component is communication. Entrepreneur states: “The best way to demonstrate value between team members is through communication. It’s difficult to feel like you are part of a team when everybody has information that hasn’t been shared with you yet or when team members don’t fill each other in on what they’re working on. Keep a level of transparency whenever possible with all team members, even if the information doesn’t directly pertain to every person on your team.” (Johnson). Keeping a team in communication is vital in teamwork.
So What? These procedures can help team members get to know each other, accomplish tasks fast and efficiently, produce good ideas with feedback, and leave everyone with a sense of accomplishment. At the end of the project, team members have more confidence in each other and can complete more tasks together. CMO states: “When delivered correctly, team development can create an innovative atmosphere that encourages cooperation, teamwork and trust among its members. But as most leaders know, team development doesn’t just happen; there’s a lot involved in turning a group of people into a functioning and productive team. At its core, team building is a considered process of transitioning separate individuals into a cohesive group. A group that is at once working interdependently and cooperatively to accomplish a specific set of purposes and goals.” (Deakin University). Taking small steps can seem oversimplified at first but can easily be modified and adjusted to the group’s specific needs.
Now what? Now that we know that forming a team or group in the workplace can be challenging, use the simple steps already outlined to create a team or group and have it last through thick and thin. The important reasons are laid out by Potential: “Teamwork motivates unity in the workplace…These close-knit relationships motivate employees in parallel and align them to work harder, cooperate and be supportive of one another. Teamwork offers differing perspectives and feedback…A proper team environment allows individuals to brainstorm collectively, which in turn increases their success to problem solve and arrive at solutions more efficiently and effectively. Teamwork provides improved efficiency and productivity. Teamwork provides great learning opportunities. Teamwork promotes workplace synergy.” Overall, teamwork is a great way to work and is fairly easy to get started if you have the right people to start with. The most important outcome is a task that is complete, viable and is a result that co-workers feel proud of.
Refrences:
Deakin University. (2017, October 3). Why is team development important to a leader? Retrieved from https://www.cmo.com.au/brand-post/content/662563/why-is-team-development-important-to-a-leader/Johnson, C.
Levi, D. (2017). Group Dynamics for Teams (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(2016, May 23). 6 Steps to Build a Strong Team. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/274001Wehbe, S.
(2018, April 17). 5 Important Reasons Why Teamwork Matters. Retrieved from https://www.potential.com/articles/5-important-reasons-why-teamwork-matters/
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