5.4.2 Hints on developing teams
Hints
Mike Woodcock in his Team Development Manual , second edition, Gower: Aldershot (1989: 19-20), proposed some hints for helping teams through the four stages of team formation.
Stage 1: The Undeveloped Team (Forming)
- Facilitate "getting to know you" exercises, stimulating greater personal knowledge.
- Demonstrate openness by example.
- Invite members to share their concerns and problems.
- Encourage consideration of individual strengths and weaknesses.
- Make team activities enjoyable.
Give maximum support.
Stage 2: The Experimenting Team (Storming)
Encourage greater openness.
- Begin to involve team members in review of team performance.
- Build bridges between individuals.
- Allow conflicts to surface.
- Question decision-making and problem-solving methods.
- Find opportunities to experiment.
- Give high level of support.
- Encourage individual team members to "air their grievances".
- Seek common ground.
Stage 3: The Consolidating Team (Norming)
- Develop problem-solving skills.
- Develop decision-making strategies.
- Develop individual skills.
- Develop a capacity for the team to compensate for individual weaknesses.
- Encourage people to share strengths.
- Celebrate successes.
- Clarify objectives.
- Regularly review performance and plan improvements in team functioning.
- Give moderate support.
Stage 4: The Mature Team (Performing)
- Build bridges with other teams.
- Experiment with different forms of leadership.
- Allow leadership to change with the needs of the task.
- Clarify values.
- Consider the possibilities of enhanced inputs into the organisation.
- Encourage informal communications.
- Fight insularity.
- Expose team functioning to external scrutiny.
- Give minimal support.
Activity 4
The stages in team formation parallel in time development of other management tools and theories. We studied some of these in Topic 1 on Leadership. One useful parallel is the linking of team formation with the Johari Window model. This is a simple and useful tool for illustrating and improving self-awareness, and mutual understanding between individuals within a group. The Johari Window tool can be examined and accessed in the Reading below.

Reading 2
Chapman, A (Revised 2004) Johari Window http://www.businessballs.com/johariwindowmodel.htm .