Should a conflict ever arise, your team will also know what steps to take to get this conflict resolved. Strong communication skills are the backbone of conflict resolution. With a clear communication plan in place, your team will know how to discuss their issues with the rest of the team in a constructive manner. You can facilitate relationships on your team by creating opportunities for natural interactions like casual coffee chats or team dinners. You can also engage in relationship-building team building activities such as storytelling workshops and common traits.

The storming stage is the most difficult and critical stage to pass through. It is a period marked by conflict and competition as individual personalities emerge. Team performance may actually decrease in this stage because energy is put into unproductive activities. Members may disagree on team goals, and subgroups and cliques may form around strong personalities or areas of agreement.

Additional stage: Mourning/Adjourning

This activity helps to improve the adaptability skills of your employees. Here you need to ask your teams to draw their dream workplace on a flipchart. The members should only communicate by writing, not verbally. Any insights should be shared in a public forum so everyone in the company can learn. Disagreements are unavoidable on teams, especially when each person on the team has a different perspective on how to approach the issues the team encounters.

• The process of becoming a high-performance team is not a linear process.
• You and your teammates trust each other enough to get a little creative and innovative, while still delivering top-notch work on time.
• In the past, we would look to HR or our boss’ boss for guidance.
• ThoughtHub is a collection of knowledge to help you learn more about your favorite topics.
• Individual members might feel all of these things at the same time, or may cycle through feelings of loss followed by feelings of satisfaction.
• As you add people to the team, pay attention to what qualities and skills you’ll need to complete the project.

However, the effort will pay off when team members work together to solve problems. Each team will spend most of its time in the “performing” stage, regardless of how long a project is. This is when you will see the results of how a leader has constructed their team. If “storming” is not done properly, however, “norming” can involve many team members checking out mentally or finding apathy for a project.

Performing — High-performance is the name of the game.

Team members must also feel comfortable confronting other teammates and approaching teammates for help. Employees who feel comfortable with colleagues take more creative risks and report higher levels of satisfaction. Not to mention, trusting colleagues waste little time questioning teammate’s intentions or second-guessing others’ work. Clarifying roles cuts down on conflict and eliminates stress and frustration. When teams understand the part of each individual player, teammates can confidently tackle tasks and produce timely results.

This stage requires teams to be actively helping and encouraging each other and holding team mates to account. A leader’s role at this stage is to encourage cooperation, leverage the strengths of each individual and, again, identify and resolve conflicts before they get out of hand. Encourage four stages of team building members to roll up their sleeves and work collaboratively. At this stage, having the skills to facilitate open dialogue and enforce accountability is critical. After reading everything above, you have a pretty good idea where your team is at – but does the rest of the team agree?

Assess progress

You can also make this activity into an airband competition. In this case, the teams would simply pretend to play the instruments. It requires more preparation from the leader to go smoothly, but non-participation by team members can be catastrophic. The casual nonchalance in this stage should be balanced with a healthy respect for how important it is as it will directly influence how the team will act. Natural talent will only get one so far in the real world, however.

Alternatively, if your team is having challenges meshing, it may take them longer to get work done. To guide your team as it develops, it helps to understand the stages of group development. Team building requires effort, and when you achieve success in any or many of the team building steps, you should take time to acknowledge the win. In fact, experts encourage you to celebrate small wins with the team consistently.

Five virtual wine tasting team building providers for teams of all sizes

Each group will have to collaborate to come up with answers, which develops communication skills. Additionally, playing this game in a fun, low-stress way allows team members to relate to each other casually rather than as colleagues. Even though this game is relatively simple with few supplies, it will encourage teamwork and communication.

If teams get through the storming stage, conflict is resolved and some degree of unity emerges. In the norming stage, consensus develops around who the leader or leaders are, and individual member’s roles. Interpersonal differences begin to be resolved, and a sense of cohesion and unity emerges. Team performance increases during this stage as members learn to cooperate and begin to focus on team goals.

What are the five stages of team building?

For example, you give the first clue at the start, then they find that item and get the next clue. This activity helps you understand how your teams respond to change. In this activity, you can tell some change-related words like “alteration”, “conversion”, etc., one by one.

This activity is an example of office team building ideas for large groups suitable for outgoing audiences. Whether you identify as a team member or a team leader, understanding each of these roles is critical for creating an effective team. The most effective team member is one that knows he or she needs to work with his or her team members, a good team leader will know all of this like the back of their hand. Tuckman’s model for group development is known and widely taught among business owners.

Signs and questions to look out for in the norming stage

The team is focused on problem solving and meeting team goals. While working on a high-performing team may be a truly pleasurable and growthful experience, it is not the end of team development. There is still a need for the team to focus on both process and product, setting new goals as appropriate. Changes, such as members coming or going or large-scale changes in the external environment, can lead a team to cycle back to an earlier stage.