Team Processes

The following are some career suggestions relating to this topic: Manager, sportsman (both team and individual sportsman have to work in teams e.g. with manager, sports boards etc), educator, coach, principal, politician, sales team, editing team, interior decorators, music band, camp facilitators, management teams, chefs, instructors, medical teams, builders, waiters, actors, airline staff, archaeologists...

Career Possibilities

4.Team Processes

Team processes refer to the different steps a team goes through from start to finish. In the process of this interaction, the team follows certain stages that are explained in the table below. Even informal teams, without pre-planning, will instinctively go through most of these stages:

Team Processes

Team Processes:

Forming

Storming During the forming stage, unrelated members are either allocated, or spontaneously come together to start forming a team.

During storming, the most volatile stage, the team members are finding their roles as well as testing those of fellow members. Ideas, discussion, disagreement and dissension are all rampant and part of the creative process. Members’ past experiences should be noted as a potential future resource.

Norming

Performing

Adjourning

y Mourning y Transforming Norming is the “calm after the storm”, when the team starts to gel and begins to work towards a common goal. Team roles are either assigned by a leader or assumed, unworkable ideas discarded and some agreement reached that all members are happy to proceed with. Team briefing will occur where the leader allocates roles, specifies aims and sets up working methods. If there are several possible ideas, one will be prioritised and analysed to see if it is viable. If not, the process will be repeated until a workable solution is found.

In the performing step the actual work is done. Members may move off to complete their allocated tasks, or break into sub-teams to debate sections on the task further. Barriers and problems are addressed and solved to enable the team to proceed. Productivity is determined by the cohesion and buy-in of the group members. This stage is potentially the longest lasting of all, depending on the nature of the task at hand.

Disbanding of the group, or adjourning, occurs either when the task is completed, or realisation is reached that it will not be successful.

If unsuccessful, a process of mourning may occur. Members may have formed close bonds, and will need to reflect and ask questions before letting go.

If successful, this mourning process will be followed by a period of celebration and achievement-reflection.

In many cases, the team will transform and restart a new project, sometimes with different members, or new goals such as a sports team at the end of a season. Next season will bring new players and challenges.

Exercise 1.4: Team Processes

Break into groups with other learners who have played on a sports team, or worked together in any other capacity together (e.g. Public speaking, Entrepreneurship project, School production, House activities or school camp) and identify exactly when that team went through each process. If it is a current team, identify when adjourning is likely to take place.