Project Planning Research Paper
Fredrick L. Harris
Professor Greg Wilson
Project Planning BBA 4126
21 May 2009
FIVE STAGE TEAM DEVELOPMENT MODEL LIFE CYCLES
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the life cycle of team development. How the stages of a project team works towards an end conclusion. The benefits of a project team and the risks of allowing the project team to exist beyond its original goals.
The five stage team development consists of five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. This is the Tuckman Model introduced in 1965, by Bruce Tuckman. This model explains the basic progress and growth of a team. The first stage, forming, is the members coming together as a team. At this stage the group attempts to set up the parameters and goals of the team. At this stage either a leader is assigned or selected by the group. The next stage is storming, this is the time the group hammers out its differences. According to Lencioni, in his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he outlines five dysfunctions. These are the following; lack of trust among members, the fear of conflict, lack of commitment, the avoidance of accountability, and the inattention to results. A strong team leader is needed to act as a facilitator to steer the group to the next stage. The norming stage is the group forms group identity and trust among members. It will review and finalize its set goals and objectives. This is followed by the group truly developing into a working team, called the performing stage. It is at this point the group is ready to proceed with actually accomplishing its goals. The final stage is adjourning, this is when the group has completed its set objectives and in no longer needed to provide the role as a team.
What has been described is the life cycle of the team concept. It is born, has growing pains, matures, works, and ends. Edwin Lee in his article The Life Cycles of
Professor Greg Wilson
Project Planning BBA 4126
21 May 2009
FIVE STAGE TEAM DEVELOPMENT MODEL LIFE CYCLES
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the life cycle of team development. How the stages of a project team works towards an end conclusion. The benefits of a project team and the risks of allowing the project team to exist beyond its original goals.
The five stage team development consists of five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. This is the Tuckman Model introduced in 1965, by Bruce Tuckman. This model explains the basic progress and growth of a team. The first stage, forming, is the members coming together as a team. At this stage the group attempts to set up the parameters and goals of the team. At this stage either a leader is assigned or selected by the group. The next stage is storming, this is the time the group hammers out its differences. According to Lencioni, in his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he outlines five dysfunctions. These are the following; lack of trust among members, the fear of conflict, lack of commitment, the avoidance of accountability, and the inattention to results. A strong team leader is needed to act as a facilitator to steer the group to the next stage. The norming stage is the group forms group identity and trust among members. It will review and finalize its set goals and objectives. This is followed by the group truly developing into a working team, called the performing stage. It is at this point the group is ready to proceed with actually accomplishing its goals. The final stage is adjourning, this is when the group has completed its set objectives and in no longer needed to provide the role as a team.
What has been described is the life cycle of the team concept. It is born, has growing pains, matures, works, and ends. Edwin Lee in his article The Life Cycles of
References: Lee, E. (1996) Life Cycles of Executive Teams, Work with nature, don’t put senile teams on life support. Retrieved May 14, 2009 from http://www.elew.com/lifecycl.htm Cooper, R., Edgett, S. and Kleinschmidt, E. (2002) Optimizing the Stage-Gate Process: What Best Practice Companies are Doing. Retrieved May 14, 2009 from http://www.stage-gate.com Hashmi, K. (2000). Introduction and Implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM). Retrieved May 13, 2009 from http://www.isixsigma.com/library White, A. (2008) From Comfort Zone to Performance Management; Understanding development and performance. Retrieved May 13, 2009 from http://www.pm-solutions.com/Performance_ManagementApril2008.pdf Mcelwain, G. (2009) Creating Team Building Guidelines. Retrieved May 13, 2009 from http://ezinearticles.com