Team Stage Essay

IYORE IMADE
 Think about a team you are on at work. Which stage are you in right now, and how do you know? Describe two actions that you could take to improve team functioning, based on your assessment of team stage.
A team can be defined as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performing goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Katzenbach & Smith, The Wisdom of Teams 2015). A team can also be defined as a group in which members work together intensively to achieve a common group goal (Lewis-McClear & Taylor 1998). According to the class lecture, teams can improve competitiveness, improve productivity, improve quality, provide backup for key skills, enhance

The norming stage involves team members trying to create a sense of teamwork and the effect of peer pressure is one of the major attributes I noticed in my team (David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron. 2015). I know we are at the norming stage because I can clearly see the peer pressure effect on the team. For example, there is a team member that is creative and charismatic, and every other member of the team finds it hard to spring up new ideas different from his when we are faced with a task. From my observation, I noticed that people might have an idea different from his idea, but we all just accept his idea. This is because everyone is trying to get along well with every other person, and trying to show support. In this stage, team members begin to discuss their responsibilities, who reports to whom, and how things will interface. Team members also begin to identify with one another, this brings about trust within the team. There is also a cohesive bond within my team and conclusions are reached quite easily, and by easily, I mean we arrive at solutions without conflicts. Conflict is good in a team and solutions can be reached without conflicts, but in a case where one person speaks and everyone unanimously accepts the persons decision without brainstorming or exploring other alternatives can be a pitfall for the team. This can be related to what is called groupthink. According

From my observation in my team, there is the general conception that we should all work together without argument or misunderstanding, this can lead to what I mentioned earlier known as groupthink, and according to David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron this can make the team experience a certain amount of pressure to conform to the expectation of other team members.
Furthermore, to improve team functioning at this norming stage, I will have to carry out a series of actions, so we can progress into the next stage which is the storming stage on the Tuckman’s model. During the process of enhancing team functioning, I will always have at the back of my mind as discussed in the class lecture that not all members of the team will progress into the storming stage at the same