I have experienced conflict when working with a team whereas everyone had different ideas
on how to go about doing things and we couldn’t come to an agreement on things. The way
the situation was handled was by getting advice from someone outside the team to help
resolve the conflict. If asked what it means to strengthen a team, I would say establish trust
within the team, be open to everyone ideas and thoughts, and develop a goal to work
towards. Strategies that can be used is to establish roles among the team make sure everyone
has a clear understanding of what needs to be accomplished. In the forming stage, it may be
beneficial for management to spend time and careful consideration in choosing each member
of the team. Things they should take into consideration: who will work well together, what
knowledge and experience can each possible member bring to the teams performance, how
many members does the team need to fully accomplish the goal set forth. The performance
stage my cause difficult situations to arise. Should management find that the team isn't
working well together thus affecting the teams performance, they may have to develop a
strategy of how to correct the issue and keep the team moving forward. My job consists of
working as part of a team. Management took careful consideration in hiring each team
member; this took multiple interviews with not just management but also the other team
members. This gave some reassurance of whether or not the new hire (or hires) would work
well on our team. In our current situation, we all perform well and work great together as a
team. We accomplish all of the goals set forth by management on a daily basis as well as
complete any new tasks added to our trello board.If my supervisor asked me to help
strengthen the team, I may struggle on how to make this happen. At the moment, I feel as
though our team is strong; we encourage each other, support one another and are always
open to the thoughts and opinions of each team member. We each feel comfortable asking
for help; sometimes we just need affirmation on what or how to do certain tasks. My only
response to "strengthening our team" may be to suggest a morning "huddle" to get our day
started with words of encouragement to each other. I believe this strengthens bonds and sets
groundwork for team cohesiveness. In forming stage which some will have worries about
the roles each individual will have. There will be holding back to see who will take control.
Storming stage is when some people in group will test the leaders rules and there will be a
stall.the third stage is Norming this is when the group resolve its power struggle, this is
when individuals find their purpose in the group. Performing is the forth stage in this stage
is were everyone do their put to get the work done. The last stage is adjourning this is when
the work is done and everyone part ways. I have encounter all these stages at work. My
reactions is to stay calm, listen to others concerns or point of view, and problem solve and
get things done. If my supervisor was to ask me what it mean to strengthen a team my
response would be, make it a safe environment, listen to my team member, build trust, work
efficiently together to put out great work. In this week's readings, it stated there are typically
four phases of development: Forming, Storming, norming, and performing. Every team will
go through these phases, but the length of time spent in each phase will depend upon the
team members and the leadership direction.
Forming: This is when people come together for the first time, there is little interaction
between members, and generally trust level is low.
Storming: This is were members experience conflict; there is still little to no trust, possible
arguments, and cliques forming among members.
Norming: The phase where the team is moving forward and being productive. There are
generally unwritten rules the teams govern themselves by, and the team gets in a rhythm of
working together.
Performing: This is the maintenance phase, were the leadership assists in keeping the team
on track, and help remove any barriers for the teams continuing success.
I have encountered each of these situations several times in every team or group I have been
assigned. There is always a growing period when people come together to get anything
done, whether it be in a team setting or within their own family. I have always been a "Type
A" personality, a take-charge kind of person. As for my reaction, my irritation level would
go "through the roof," and I would have very little patience in the forming and storming
phases. I feel as "adults," we should be able to come together based on the mutual
understanding we each have a purpose as to why we were chosen for the assignment. What
is needed to 'strengthen a team' is to set basic ground rules that the team follows, encourage
all members, and advise what behavior is expected from everyone. Strategies I have used to
help strengthen teams, and what I have used in the past is: open and active listening to ideas
of the team; never jumping to a decision or conclusion until all ideas have been heard, and
give positive feedback to information presented.
Some situations that may occur in group development could be someone not wanting to
come out of their shell in the forming stage, remaining shy and stand offish to the group, not
feeling as if they have a place among the others. In the storming stage you could potentially
take on to much of the work load because you still haven't found your place among everyone
or you think I will step up and take on more to show my dedication to the purpose. In the
norming stage it could be easy to fall back into the storming stage if issues haven't been
resolved such as disagreements and the way things should go, it's a good idea to stick to the
ground rules in this stage to stay on track and from falling back. In the performing stage
things are finally coming together but issues and disagreements can arise but will be handled
appropriately, in this stage encouragement and praise goes a long way in the group. I've
encountered a few of this issues when working with a team. I work with a team of co-
workers every day for our residents. We reacted well in these situations to achieve our
common goal. What it means to strengthen a team is give them proper leadership, effective
communication, stress free working environment, keeping an open mind to their ideas, and
encouragement. One main strategy I believe in for strengthening a team is that a "thank you"
for your hard work and dedication goes a long way, when someone feels appreciated and
their work is recognized they put out a better work ethic which could potentially make a
stronger team, they work better together when people feel good about what they're doing.
There can be many situations that occur in each phase of group development. Some of these
situations can make it extremely hard for the group to progress forward. Some of the
situations that I personally have had to deal with in my past are somebody have a strong
opinion and not listening to the other members of the group. I have also been in a group
when the leader is not strong, so that makes it hard when others are slacking and not pulling
their weight in order to complete the project. When somebody has a strong opinion about
things and they do not want to listen to anybody else you can not let that bring you down, I
just keep trying to prove my point and open up their mind and if not the group just has to
continue. When I worked with a poor leadership that was never involved or present I
continued to work on but lead the group myself, I made myself available for others when
needed and encouraged our team to keep working hard. When it comes to "strengthen a
team" you need team players, people that are going to be reliable and keep up their end of
the work. Personally I like holding people accountable for their actions when leading a
group, if you're slacking and leaving your team to pick up the extra work you're not being a
team player so I question do you need to be part of the group anymore. There are plenty of
situations that may occur in a group development such as a lack of direction from the group,
team members not seen eye to eye on certain decision making, the person in charge not
having a great leadership approach, individuals not fully committed to the task at hand, or
even employees being absent making it difficult for the rest of the group since they have to
pick up the slack. Me personally, I've experienced most of these issues In various forms. It
makes it hard to experience these conflicts since it puts the rest of the group in a very
stressful state of mind leaving the door open for mistakes to be made. When mistakes are
made your team has to face the music from the boss or supervisor.
If my supervisor would ask me what it means to "strengthen the team" I would simply state
that Its my responsibility to find out what our weaknesses are as a team and strengthen them.
Some strategies that I feel can be effective to strengthen the team is constant communication
among team members, making sure that all the small details are covered, being able to lend
a helping hand for those group members that are struggling, and even just by simply having
patience for the group itself since every one has a different work ethic. I've had to use some
of these strategies every time we host a holiday event or sports banquet at the rec center I
currently work at. I personally have encountered all of the stages in group development. In
my experience some of the typical situations in the phases of group development include:
Forming: New group members often are apprehensive about sharing ideas or opinions and it
is sometimes difficult to ascertain skill sets because of communication barriers.
Storming: Tension sometimes is present at this stage because there is still no foundation of
processes and early workload among members is sometimes uneven depending upon the
personalities in the group (people who like to take the initiative sometimes overburden
themselves during this stage). As is most common during this stage, a power struggle can
sometimes ensue.
Norming: Situations in this stage often illustrate better communication, and higher levels of
trust. However, I've experienced a group at this stage where it became clear that some
individuals in the group will not be needed or did not necessarily fit. It would not have been
appropriate or feasible to remove these members from the group so we had to find ways to
include them without disrupting the developing synergy among the other members.
Performing: In general, if the norming stage was successful the performing stage will be
very rewarding. This stage consist of clear boundaries and structures among group members
that ultimately play a role in meeting deadlines and having good productivity. In large
groups that encompass multiple teams these boundaries and structures are critical. They
ensure that respect, trust, and group comfort remain in tact over the course of a groups
functionality.
Adjourning: If the group has had a long and successful working history this stage can be
emotional as strong relationships have been built. In contrary circumstances the disbandment
of a group can be a relief.
These stages are common in both groups and teams. But even when this process is going
well it is worth the efforts to strengthen a group / team. To help strengthen a group / team I
believe it is important to always reward or recognize the behaviors you desire. This will
effect the DNA of the group / team directly. Most importantly however is the ability to make
sure that all aspects of interaction are based in respect. This extends beyond only
interpersonal respect. It requires that all members respect each others professional positions,
deadline request, and roles within a group (making sure that one does not overstep their
duties and begin to do the job of someone else without permission). I have used and
currently use these strategies in my current employment and in my current transition into a
much larger leadership role. Typical situations to happen in forming would be nervousness
and shyness between each member. Usually this is where people are trying to figure out
where to sit, who to sit by, what to say or even how to introduce themselves. In storming,
you can expect a lot of conflict to start due to people still having little trust in one another,
and cliques starting to form. In norming, it's just that- teams start to form a pattern and get
into a rhythm- They work together & know expectations Performing is last and usually
where, as a manager, you start recognizing achievement to influence positivity and higher
performance. I think forming is very popular in every setting. I remember starting my job
now, and being completely nervous and unsure of absolutely everything, even when it came
to seats and areas to sit in.
I think the biggest thing I learned at work to help "strengthen my team" was to get together
for team building projects. Making it fun and doing activities to help them all work together
helped my whole team have a better attitude about working together. It wasn't necessarily a
strategy, more just options to help boost morale and have everyone step away from all the
tough complicated stuff, and work together on something fun. in the first phase forming this
is when most team members are positive and polite, this is when everyone get to know each
other and discus members skills and background this is when everyone get to know each
other. Storming this starts when everyone voice their opinions and this when a conflict may
occur. Norming is when people get together to resolve their difference from the conflict.
Performing this is the stage when team members are able to do their own problem- solving
.I have encounter when working in a team had some members that could not agree on the
project and they had words but then the next day we all was able to come to some type of
agreement to get the project done. I will express when been a part of the team be a team
player work as one to achieve goals, and never give up but inspire each other constantly.
Team work is the key combination to success. I feel when working in a team can be a very
good experience and ways you can strength the team is when you are a team player and
willing to pitch in to help whenever you can. One of the typical situations that could occur
in the forming process of group development could be that the manager does not or is not
capable of providing concise directions. A typical situation that could occur during the
storming process of group development could be the leader lacks the ability to deal with
conflict management and effective communication. A typical situation that could occur
during the norming process of group development could be the leader not having clear
ground rules set in place for the group. A typical issue that could happen during the
performing process could be the leader does not recognize changes that happen during this
process. I have encountered an issue where the leader of my group was not able to provide
the group with clear instructions on what to do and there not being any ground rules in place
for the group. I tried to ask the teacher questions to ensure that we were doing our project
correctly and I also asked if I could switch groups. In my opinion, to "strengthen a team"
would mean ensuring that we had clear directions, everybody knows exactly what to do,
everyone communicates effectively with no conflicts, and there are ground rules in place
before the group begins their project. Following the forming, storming, norming, and
performing style of group development a typical situation could be a that a team will be put
together by a company in the forming stage the team members will hardly know each other
and how to work together. In the storming stage team members will have some conflict of
ideas. The norming stage the team members develop good work habits and comes together.
In the performing stage the team is the most effective. Personally, I have been in several
teams throughout my professional career and have been in several different situations. I have
been in the forming stage and I reacted by being shy, not sure of myself, and unsure of how
to react with my fellow team members. I would respond to a supervisor asking me what it
means to strengthen a team by saying I will bring my team together and build on their
strengths and try to minimize the number of mistakes and road blocks. Some strategies that I
could share to effectively strengthen a team are hire like-minded individuals whose morals
and goals co-align with others within the team. Another way to strengthen teams is to
present a challenge to the team and when accomplished tie a reward with it. I have used
some of these strategies throughout my military career. I may not have had anything to do
with who was in my team but as a leader I tried to challenge my team and reward them
when accomplishing a task better than other teams.
