Team Beginnings
BY :BREENA SALWOCKI & DANNY AMATO
Stages of Teamwork
• Slow start
• Takes time to
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-Decide on the definition of the Project
-Develop social reltions
-Create effective operating rules
Group Development Perspective
• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning
Project Development Perspective
• Group stages based on the characteristics of the projects .
• McIntyre and Salas (1995) model uses changing
relationships between the team and the project driver as
the driver of change throughout the stages.
• McGrath (1990) model- Based on 4 types of functions .
• Ancona and Caldwell (1990)- Based changing nature of the
tasks and how they affect internal process and external
relations.
McGrath (1990) model
1. Inception stage - (selecting and accepting goals), problem
solving, conflict resolution, and execution. Focused on
planning activities and collaborating
2. Conflict resolution stage- social relations are strained
because group is dealing with conflict.
3. Problem solving stage- focus on coordinating the ideas
or actions of the group members
4. Execution stage- focus on coordinating the ideas or actions
of the group members
Ancona and Caldwell (1990)1. Creation Stage- both internal and external. Team
developing new ideas and creative solutions while
organizing the team. Gathering information and building
links with organizational units
2. Development stage- Internal. Team is focused on the
technical details of the project
3. Diffusion- External. Project nearly complete, coordinating
is transferred to manufacturing and marketing is the focus
for the teams activities
Cyclical perspective
• Groups can skip stages or get stuck in certain stages
but still be able to find routes through them.
• Try to balance the needs for task completion and
relationship development.
Implications of Team Developemtn Stages
• If a team is unable to build social relations and team norms
at the beginning of projects then they will never get to the
performing stage because they have not worked through
their earlier problems (Wheelan, 2005)
• All parts of the process is important and better in the long
run.
Group socialization
• Refers to the process by which a person becomes a member of
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a group
Individual evaluates group, group evaluates individual.
Commitment is decided from both parties.
Investigation stage- Individual decides if they want to join the
group and if the group wants the individual to join the group.
Process ends when the individual joins the group
Socialization stage- determines how the individual will be
integrated into the group
Passive approach
During maintenance stage, individual is fully committed to the
group
Team Goals
• "A desirable state of affairs members intend to bring about
through combined efforts" (Zander, 1994)
• A team with shared goals is more likely to complete its task on
time and have less internal conflict
• Teams often create mission statements that define their
purposes and values.
• Mission statements are consistent with team goals, but goals
should be objective defining accomplishments that need to be
completed for success
Value and Characteristics of Goals
• Provide team with direction and motivation
• Clear and specific
• Progress toward the goal should be measurable
• Moderately difficult
• Challenging performance goals
• Goals leads to better team performance
Hidden Agendas
• Unspoken individual goals that conflict with overall group
goals
• Conflict is difficult to resolve because it is hidden
• Focusing on group goals is an indirect approach to dealing
with hidden agendas
• Open and trustworthy communication enables the team to
better manage its conflicts and allow members to discuss
team conflicts
Group Norms
• Ground rules that define appropriate and inappropriate behavior
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in a group
Members typically aware of rules and follow them
4 main functions of a group:
1.express central values, which gives sense of who they are
as a group
2.Help coordinate activities by establishing common ground
and making behavior more predictable
3.Define appropriate behavior for group members
4. Helps group survive by creating distinctive identity
The more cohesive a group is, the more conformity there is to a
group
How norms are formed
• Develop unconsciously and gradually over time
• Can be based on norms from previous groups to which they
have belonged
• Based on outside standards such as social or organizational
groups
• Strongly influenced by what happens early in the groups
existence.
Impact of Group Norms
• Allows for fairer communication, maintain respect among
members, and distributes power to weaker members of a
group.
• Negatively, enforces conformity, which can hinder
organizations perspective.
Application: Jump-Starting Project Teams
• Spending time designing and launching is important.
• Improves social relations, better define projects and plan a
team strategy, and create team contract and articulate
goals, roles, and norms.
• Important predictors of long-term team success.
Team Warm-Ups
• It is important to focus on developing social relations early
on.
• They are social "icebreakers" conducted to start team
meetings
• Help team members get to know one another and improve
communication during the team project.
Project Definitions and planning
• Everyone on the team should have the same understanding
of the assignment, and should conform to the organizations
intentions.
• Once team agrees on a definition they must take the time to
plan how they will work together
• This can help promote team effectiveness.
• Developing performance strategies that outline
performance objectives and tactics helps direct team’s
actions
Team Contracts
• Proper team launch includes common goals and objectives,
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clarifying roles, appropriate team norms, and defining
performance expectations
An effective way to do this to develop a team contract.
They are plans for how the team will manage its teamwork
activities
States agreements the team has reached on how to operate
Valuable to get the team in the right direction.