Running Header: ANALYSIS OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Analysis of Team Development
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Student’s Name
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ANALYSIS OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT
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Introduction
A team is established by singling out persons from contrary backgrounds. An organizer or a team
leader develops a team by considering the roles that suit specialty, interest levels of team
members, and personality. If an organization augments a team based on Tuckman’s theory of
team development, team associates who operate like stranger come together to accomplish
common goals and are highly successful. The prime purpose of this paper is to offer
recommendations that strengthen the effectiveness of teams, particularly in task execution and
development. The recommendations provided will cultivate team development in addition to
empowering the team to intensify its efficacy through task accomplishment.
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All teams experience five facets of team development. First, some milieu on team
development: Bruce Tuckman, a professor in psychology, determined four steps of development
namely Norming, Storming, Forming, and Performing which he published in 1965. His
supposition was based on research done on team dynamics and he believed the aforementioned
stages were inevitable for a team to develop to a point where they function effectively and
convey top-notch results. Tuckman and Mary Ann jointly added a fifth phase to the initial four
stages in 1977 called the adjourning stage; therefore we now have five stages that contribute to
team development.
In stage one which is forming, team members are uncertain about roles and look for
guidance from outside. Since they come from dissimilar fields, they neither develop nor trust
each other. People feel apprehensive and dubious of their duties and look to the team leader for
guidance (Tuckman, 1965). A team leader holds a critical role in this stage since team members’
responsibilities and roles are not clear. Stage two identified as storming is where individuals start
pushing in opposition of boundaries instituted in stage one. There is a growing confidence in the
team and a rejection of outside authority. Team members oppose the task demands, refuse the
task, and find reasons not to do it (Tuckman, 1965). People still feel tentative and try to articulate
their individuality. Concerns crop up regarding the team hierarchy.
The third stage is the Norming stage. Here, there is an open exchange of views in regard
to the teams’ problems. The team starts setting up procedures to tackle tasks and people ignore
individual differences (Tuckman, 1965), furthermore, team members are more compliant with
one another and everyone wants to be part of the team. In stage four, the team progresses to the
performing phase where people are concerned with accomplishing the job. Measures are situated
to guarantee the absolute objective is attained and resources are allotted efficiently. The team is
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well able to resolve problems in addition to effective communication and sharing a common
focus. They are more competent and supple as a result (Tuckman, 1965). The fifth phase entails
the detachment of relationships amongst team members and an interlude of appreciation for the
team’s accomplishments (Tuckman, 1965). Concluding team operations can be disturbing
particularly if they have labored jointly for a long duration.
Tuckman underscored important observations on his research on teamwork and teams
which have resonance today: a team will not be fully effective until it arrives at the phase of
interdependence/performing, majority of teams accept storming as a normal way of functioning
whereas others may never get beyond forming, unless the Norming process is wholly complete,
teams may deteriorate to storming, and the time taken to wrap-up the cycle varies tremendously
between teams (Tuckman, 1965).
Great leaders are developed by an unending process in education, training, experience,
and self-study. Great leaders are recurrently studying and working to advance their leadership
skills. Leadership has diverse meanings for various people. Leadership is classified as a
procedure whereby a person persuades groups of individuals into achieving a collective goal
(Jasper, 2008). This definition is supported by (Cliff, 2012), who describes leadership as a
process that entails the capability of influencing or persuading people to achieve the
organization’s goal.
In a healthcare organization, the function of a leader is geared towards improving health
care quality that is availed by the complete nursing team of its quality at parity with the common
performance of the organization (Huston, 2014). Other goals the leader may participate in
include; increasing the accessibility and affordability of patient and healthcare. A successful
leader exhibits personal qualities that aid in surpassing hurdles involved in accomplishing goals
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and objectives of the organization which includes integrity, initiative, courage, and the capability
to handle stress. The leaders’ proficiency of setting goals, critical thinking, and executing
necessary actions towards meeting the goals, communicating skillfully with team members, and
collaborating with other people in hospital related work and responsibilities, determine whether
or not the organization’s mission and vision would be realized (Davidson, 2010). Being a leader
in healthcare means one is concerned with portraying characteristics of a role model and
exhibiting signs of a great leader such as excellent communication skills and having integrity
(Huston, 2012). A leader must influence their staff to take them seriously. A leader sets the
tempo for employees’ work ethic. Cogent leadership in healthcare is essential to the modern
healthcare improvement (Stanley, 2008). Healthcare leaders must convey certain styles that are
functional for their organizations’ success. Performance improvement is a key aspect in
leadership management (Stanley, 2008).
I have observed that ineffective teams exhibit several dysfunctional traits. First is a lack
of commitment. An absence of clarity and a fear of being incorrect thwarts team members from
arriving at decisions in a timely and definitive manner (Lencioni, 2005). Second is the absence of
trust. A fear of being susceptible with team members averts the enactment of trust within teams
and this occurs when team members are reluctant in being vulnerable with each other in addition
to the refusal of mistake admission, weakness, and asking for help (Lencioni, 2005). An absence
of comfort among teams means the underpinning of trust is not viable. Third, avoidance of
accountability prevents teams from being accountable for their actions.
Fourth, fear of conflict exists when teams lack trust and are incapable of engaging in
passionate and candid debates concerning fundamental issues. This, in turn, leads to veiled
discussions. Lastly, inattention to results whereby team members place their own needs ahead of
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collective team goals stems when team members are not held accountable. If the team obliterates
from the need of collective achievement the organization will ultimately suffer (Lencioni, 2005).
Additional factors contributing to dysfunctional teams include; performance bottlenecks are
invisible to top management, a lot is lost in translation due to poor communication lack of follow
through.
If an organization has undergone a dysfunctional process, there are ways to get it back on
the trail. Start by making out the basic prerequisite of the problem. Getting the real source of
what is fueling the issue is a gigantic step towards the solution. Do not hover on the team alone.
Many organizations possess inherent processes and standard operations that contribute to the
problem. By no means do not ignore infrastructure of how people work, this can either set the
team up for success or failure (Mackenzie, 2011). The most significant step after identifying the
problem’s cause is to understand various issues around it, seek to understand. Be transparent and
honest about the issues. Do not carry on as usual without hearing people out. This does not
automatically imply you are dwelling on the negative, but sometimes hearing directly from
perturbed team members will help in moving forward quickly (Mackenzie, 2011).
It is wise to create a tactical action plan whereby each team member should have a list of
things they can execute differently and an understanding of how will convey their commitment
towards implementing change (Mackenzie, 2011). In conclusion, it is imperative to follow up
and revisit how things are unfolding after the completion of work alignment. Did the team
change like they said they would? Dysfunction results in devastation. Team members must
realize this truth to evade missing opportunities of the teams’ great accomplishments.
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Conclusion
Team development is critical to an organization’s success. A successful and effective team is
essential for the augmentation of an organization. Team building is the most significant
ingredient for an effective performing team. The most noteworthy ingredient when founding a
team is the people. When goals and purpose are clearly delineated and acknowledged, the team
grows to be interdependent and coordinates their aptitude and skills towards the directed results.
Being a team is extremely beneficial as each person has their personal views and opinions, also,
inside a team, there is more ingenuity due to many brains coming together. Leadership in teams
is vital as it affects the team’s performance. An excellent leader positively influences the teams’
performance and is able to deal with conflicts gracefully as they arise.
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References
Cliff, B. (2012). Patient‐Centered Care: The Role of Healthcare Leadership. Journal of
Healthcare Management, 57(6), 381-383.
Davidson, P. (2010). Becoming a nurse leader. Elsevier Australia, 258.
Jasper, M., & Jumaa, M. (Eds.). (2008). Effective healthcare leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Lencioni, P. (2005). Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team: A field guide for leaders,
managers, and facilitators (Vol. 16). John Wiley & Sons.
MacKenzie, C., Garavan, T. N., & Carbery, R. (2011). Understanding and preventing
dysfunctional behavior in organizations: conceptualizing the contribution of human
resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 10(4), 346-380.
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2009). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing:
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Marquis, B., & Huston, C. (2012). Classical Views of Leadership and Management. Lippincot
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Stanley, D. (2008). Congruent leadership: values in action. Journal of Nursing
Management, 16(5), 519-524.
Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological bulletin, 63(6),
384.
Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small-group development
revisited. Group & Organization Studies, 2(4), 419-427.
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