Group Development Essay

First, here is a summary of the development stages of a team. In the forming stage, team members come togetherand form initial impressions. They socialize in order to get to know each other and bond with other team members. In the storming stage, team members experience hostility and infighting over tasks and how the team works. In the norming stage, team members start to come together and realize what needs to be accomplished. In the performing stage, team members are well-organized and well-functioningand maintain a positive balance. In the adjourning stage, team members achieve closure when the project is accomplished. At the end of the cask study the team is still in the storming phase of team development. The team has not fully come together. There is still some infighting with Mike and the presence of cliques is developing, for example, the situation in the cafeteria. Overall, I think there is tension within the team. Christine’s leadership abilities could benefit by having knowledge of the stages of group development. Aside from the very first meeting Mike was not present at any subsequent meetings. He missed out on the forming stage of team development. During this stage Mike could have talked with the team about his outside distractions, job and girlfriend, that may prevent him from fully participating at the meetings, and on the project. If Christine had some knowledge of team development she would have recognized this lapse in the forming stage and could have been able to address this issue with Mike before it became a bigger problem. Christine, as the team leader, could have pulled Mike aside and talked to him about the importance of attending the meetings. She could have spoke with him after the cafeteria incident to reassure him that he was not being excluded, but that all the team members being there was truly a coincidence. Also, she could have told Mike her opinion about how she felt he had a lot to offer the team, the value of his contributions and how it would help with the success of the team. PART II – Problem Identification The primary problem that appears in this case is Christine’s lack of knowledge in team development and as a team leader. The secondary problem is Mike’s unwillingness to contribute to the team. Since Christine did not have knowledge of team development or experience she was ineffective as the team leader. She could have organized the team better by assigning tasks’, scheduling meetings in advance, and possible scheduling a team building event to solidify the forming stage of development. Mike was the second problem to overall team success. Although Mike had issues outside of the team he should have talked to the team at the beginning and asked for assistance and support. After the incident in the cafeteria Mike simply walked away. He should have stayed for a few minutes and discussed the situation with the other members. I don’t fell Mike did his part to interact with the team to enhance the forming stage of development. After the first meeting he immediately set himself as an outsider. Christine as a leader must understand the each group of individuals is going to have its own personality, both individually and collectively. When you understand the needs of each member, and the dynamic that each one brings to the group, then and only then, are you able to develop a strategy to utilize team development to achieve the groups ultimate goal. The goal is to complete a quality project on time. If Christine’s knowledge of team synergy, social facilitation, and overall team effectiveness would have server her well in her role as project leader. Lastly, Christie needs to learn how to assign tasks based on the strengths, and weaknesses of each team member. Other members of the team each had something to offer, including Mike. He was classified as a clown. Clowns tend to be very spontaneous in their thinking; this is a possible source of new and innovative ideas. This should have been communicated to Mike as well as the rest of the team. PART III – Retrospective Evaluation In order for Christine to solve her primary problem two things need to occur. First, Christine should take a class in organization behavior. Understanding the team development process, as well as, team effectiveness, and teams in an organization will definitely help Christine. She will be able to understand, and identify positive and negative aspects of her project team and would have been able to implement steps to correct any deficiencies. The second aspect was Christine’s lack of effectiveness and her inability to integrate Mike into the team. After the first meeting which Mike attended, the problems started. Mike did not make meeting, and was submitting hand written notes. Christine should have structured a meeting that Mike could attend, or scheduled a team building social event. in addition, she could have started reviewing his notes with the other team members at the meetings since he was not there to do it himself. This would at least have given the other team members the knowledge that Mike was making an effort on his part of the project. PART IV – Reflection In my opinion Christine was presented with a challenge that was way above her level of experience. Her lack of knowledge in team development, and as a team leader was evident in the project team. The team did not make it past the storming phase, and therefore never fully developed into an efficient team. She failed to integrate one individual into the team. This caused friction within the team and left one section of the project incomplete with one week remaining until the deadline. Overall, I do not believe Christine was an effective group leader. REFERENCES 1. Schermerhorn, J.R. Jr.,Osborn, R.N., Uhl-Bien, M., & Hunt, J.E., Organizational Behavior 12th Edition (2012), John Wiley & Sons, Danvers, MA.