Team Building Stages and Characteristics of an Effective Team Building

The Team Building Stages and Characteristics of an Effective Team Building. He focused on the four developmental stages that all teams go through over time: forming, discussing, norming, and performing. In 1977, Tuckman and doctoral student Mary Ann Jensen added a fifth stage called closure, thus creating the “five stages of team development.”

What is Team Building Stages and Characteristics of an Effective Team Building

Team formation, the process of developing and strengthening a group’s collaborative capacity, typically proceeds through distinct stages. These stages, often described according to Tuckman’s model, include forming, discussing, norming, performing, and closing. Effective teams, in turn, are characterized by several key characteristics, such as clear goals, open communication, strong leadership, and a focus on individual and collective success.
Research has shown that teams go through certain stages during their development. Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, identified a five-stage developmental process that most teams follow to achieve peak performance. He called these stages: forming, discussing, norming, performing, and closing.

What are the Stages of Team Development

Nurse leaders and managers must be aware of group dynamics and be prepared to facilitate the work of the team, if needed. All teams go through a series of stages as they are being formed, begin working, and accomplish their goals. Tuckman (1965) conducted a literature review to explore group process and to isolate common concepts and produce a model of group changes over time. He reviewed 55 articles and identified four stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, and performing.

In 1977, Tuckman and Jensen reviewed the literature published since the original four stages were identified and added a fifth stage, adjourning (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977). Tuckman’s stages have been used since the 1970s to describe the various phases of group development and team building. These stages continue to be discussed in the literature today. Some groups progress through five stages of group formation, whereas others may never progress beyond the third stage.

Forming is the initial stage when members of the team first meet each other. Members share information about themselves, learn about the purpose of the team, and begin discussion about goals. The work of the team does not start during this phase. Forming can be considered the “testing and orientation” stage (Tuckman, 1965). Members look to the leader for direction and avoid controversial topics or challenging anyone’s ideas. Everyone is focused on getting along.

During the forming stage, nurse leaders and managers help direct the team and assist members in understanding the purpose. Storming occurs as the team begins to work together. Members share their opinions about how to get the work of the team accomplished, and a lack of unity commonly results as the team becomes polarized. Intragroup conflict occurs, and, sometimes, the team never progresses beyond this stage.

Storming can be characterized as “conflict and polarization around interpersonal issues” (Tuckman, 1965). To move beyond this stage, the group must adopt a problem-solving mentality and let go of any personal agendas or goals. When the team is in the storming phase, nurse leaders and managers must remain positive about the work of the team, assist with resolving conflict, and coach team members through the storm. Norming occurs once the team overcomes resistance and progresses through the storming phase.

Everyone gives up individual goals and begins working as a team toward the common goal. Norming can be labeled as “development of group cohesion” (Tuckman, 1965). Group members begin to share ideas, and there is more acceptance among them. Focus becomes the work of the team. Creativity is high during this phase. Once the team is in the norming phase, nurse leaders and managers should step back and allow the team members to take responsibility and accountability for their work and progress toward the goal.

Performing is the stage in which the members understand their roles, they are flexible, and group energy is channeled into meeting the goal. Members accept each other’s individual idiosyncrasies and develop group norms. The team is highly motivated to accomplish the work during this phase. This stage is characterized as “functional role-relatedness” (Tuckman, 1965). The group becomes interdependent with a strong group identity. At this point, nurse leaders and managers should not need to be involved and can focus energy on other projects.

Adjourning occurs once the work of the group is completed. Although not identified in Tuckman’s original work, his subsequent work identified the notion that teams followed a life cycle model, which involved a distinct final stage (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977). The final stage can be emotional as the team disbands. When the team is beginning to adjourn, nurse leaders and managers should celebrate their successes and provide recognition to each individual. Knowledge of group dynamics is critical for nurse leaders and managers to improve leadership competencies, facilitate team communication, and foster team cohesiveness.

How Creating Synergy

As teams are formed and transition into the “norming” phase, members become interdependent and work together toward a common goal. Underlying this inter dependence is the principle of synergy. Synergy catalyzes, unifies, and unleashes the greatest strengths within people. Further, it fosters creativity, imagining, and intellectual networking (Covey, 2004, p. 265).

Synergy can be described as combining strengths of members of a team to result in remarkable outcomes that would not have been possible if members worked alone (Covey, 2004). Team synergy requires members to value their own expertise as well as others’ and enables team members to be open-minded and willing to listen and learn from each other. Roussel (2013) identified six basic rules for effective nurse leaders and managers to sustain synergy when team building and working with teams:

1. Define a clear purpose or goal. Nurse leaders and managers need to describe the purpose or goal of the team clearly. Each team member must be knowledgeable about the reason they are together. The team members must be able to articulate the goals, objectives, and purposes of the team.
2. Actively listening. Nurse leaders and managers must set the ground rules for meetings and ensure that members understand them. Only one member or the leader should be talking at any given time. Each team member must be focused on each individual and listen to what is being said. Active listening is not judge mental and means being completely absorbed and attentive to the speaker.
3. Maintain honesty. Nurse leaders and managers must model respect for others and encourage members to be open and honest. Each team member must be objective in providing feedback to the speaker. No one should make the speaker feel belittled or that his or her views are not correct or important.
4. Demonstrate compassion. Nurse leaders and managers should encourage everyone to participate and make it clear that everyone’s opinion is valued. Each team member should listen in a caring manner to the other’s viewpoint.
5. Commit to resolution of conflicts. Nurse leaders and managers need to be open minded and respect the opinions of each member of team. Each team member must agree to disagree even though his or her view or opinion is not the same. Team members must work toward a common understanding and acceptance of the issue at hand.
6. Be flexible. Nurse leaders and managers must empower team members to share their voice and feel that they will be respected. Each team member must be open and flexible to another individual’s perspective. Everyone works together to accomplish the goal or objective.

Nurse leaders and managers are key to successful teamwork. They must develop skills in intra-professional and inter-professional team building and communication. Further, they must model expert practice to team members and patients (ANA, 2016).

What are Characteristics of Effective Teams

Teams must do more than merely complete tasks; the members must be able to interact, coordinate, cooperate, and embrace a shared understanding of the team goals and objectives, available resources, and constraints under which the team must work (Salas, Sims, & Burke, 2005). The following characteristics of successful teams were identified by Salas and colleagues (pp. 560–561):

• Team leadership involves the ability to direct and coordinate the activities of team members. It includes the following: assessing team performance; assigning tasks; developing team knowledge, skills, and abilities; motivating team members; planning and organizing; and establishing a positive atmosphere. All team members may lead the team once in a while. However, someone is needed to coordinate and support the work of the team.
• Mutual performance monitoring is the ability to develop common understandings of the team environment and apply appropriate task strategies to monitor team member performance accurately. This is critical to success of the team. Everyone needs to be aware of other team members’ work; as one team member completes a task, others need to step up and help, and this approach reflects the principle of backup.
• Backup behavior is the ability to anticipate other team members’ needs through an accurate understanding of their responsibilities. This includes the ability to shift assignments or tasks among members to achieve balance during high periods of workload or pressure.
• Adaptability is the ability to adjust strategies based on information gathered from the environment through the use of backup behavior and reallocation of team resources. This also involves altering the course of action in response to internal or external changing conditions.
• Team orientation is the ability to consider other team member’s behaviors during group interactions, as well as the belief in the importance of the team goals over personal goals. Team members view their work as “our work,” not “my work” (Kalisch & Schoville, 2012).
• Shared mental models comprise an organizing knowledge structure of the relation ships among the tasks the team is engaged in and how the team members will interact. “Team members who have shared mental models have the same idea of what needs to be done, by whom, and by when” (Kalisch & Schoville, 2012, p. 53).
• Mutual trust is the shared belief that team members will perform their roles and protect the interests of their teammates. Team members must have trust in other team members that the work will be completed correctly and in a timely manner.
• Closed-loop communication is the exchange of information between a sender and a receiver irrespective of the medium. This type of communication is effective and efficient.

Salas and colleagues (2005) described team leadership, mutual performance monitoring, backup behavior, adaptability, and team orientation as the five core components that promote team effectiveness. They described shared mental models, mutual trust, and closed-loop communication as coordinating mechanisms that are critical to melding together the five core components.

Team members who have shared mental models have an understanding of what needs to be done, by whom, and by when (Kalisch & Schoville, 2012, p. 53). Team members must communicate effectively, and there must be shared trust to feel confident that team members will complete their work in a timely manner. Nurse leaders and manager have a role in fostering all of these characteristics to ensure optimal team success.

How Leading And Managing Teams

Nurse leaders and managers serve key roles within the professional practice setting, profession, health-care industry, and society (ANA, 2016). They model “expert leadership practice to inter-professional team members and healthcare consumers” (ANA, 2016, p. 51). In fact, nurse leaders and managers are fundamental to building effective teams, but they may not always be the leader of the team.

Regardless of who the team leader is, the leader must facilitate the work of the team by using effective meeting skills and frequent reminders about the team mission, goal, and accomplishments. LeBlanc (2014) suggests that the TEEAMS approach is one way in which nurse leaders and managers can create and lead successful teams. The key factors of TEEAMS are as follows:

• Time: Nurse leaders and managers must recognize the importance of spending adequate, quality, and face time with the team. LeBlanc suggests that scheduling regular time with staff members to round with them, engage in conversations, and get to know the team can be beneficial.
• Empowerment: Nurse leaders and managers must understand that empowerment is important to building a strong team. Empowering the team shows that nurse leaders and managers have trust in their team to make appropriate decisions with minimal intervention: “Productive teams are empowered teams!” (LeBlanc, 2014, p. 50).
• Enthusiasm: Nurse leaders and managers must be committed to the team’s success and demonstrate enthusiasm for the individuals on the team as well as the team as a whole. Enthusiasm is contagious and results in getting team members excited about the work and the team goals.
• Appreciation: Appreciation is meaningful recognition of a job well done. Everyone needs recognition for his or her work at times. Nurse leaders and managers must show appreciation to individuals for their work toward team goals. This appreciation builds team members’ self-esteem and self-image. Improved self-esteem and self-image can be translated into improved patient outcomes, increased intra-professional and inter-professional communication, and a willingness to continue to work toward organizational goals.
• Management: Managing teams and holding them accountable are major roles of nurse leaders and managers. Critical to these roles is ensuring that team members are clear about their goals and understand job expectations and performance parameters. It is the nurse leader and manager’s responsibility that staff members have the resources necessary to perform their duties as individuals and as members of a team.
• Support: All nurses at all levels need support to accomplish their work. Nurse leaders and managers must support their team including their personal, professional, and organizational needs. Strategies that nurse leaders and managers can use to support staff members include being accessible, engaging in daily rounding, promptly returning calls, and creating an atmosphere that encourages work engagement.

Effective nurse leadership and management can have a positive impact on manager-staff relationships and team experiences, as well as enhance job satisfaction and promote staff retention. Nurse leaders and managers lead teams toward success, encourage and mentor members, provide constructive criticism, and celebrate success (Hader, 2013). Clinical nurses and nurse leaders and managers work together with the shared goal of safe and quality patient-centered care.

To sustain team synergy, nurse leaders and managers must lead meetings effectively. There is nothing more de-energizing than attending a mandatory meeting where there is not a clear purpose or agenda and the meeting seems to drift aimlessly from topic to topic. Developing the competency of leading an efficient and successful meeting is critical.

First and foremost, nurse leaders and managers must avoid holding unnecessary meetings. Typically, staff meetings and committee meetings are held monthly, and times may or may not vary. Best practice is to schedule monthly staff meetings on the same day (i.e., the third Monday of the month) and the same time (i.e., 7:30 a.m. for night shift staff and 7:30 p.m. for day shift). Committee meetings or task force meetings are typically scheduled monthly also.

Regardless of the type of meeting, an agenda should be prepared several days ahead of the meeting and sent to team members for review. This agenda informs members about what will be addressed and allows them to come to the meeting prepared. Meetings should begin and end on time. This shows team members that they are respected and their time is valued. Nurse leaders and managers should begin with a statement of the purpose or goals of the meeting and establish ground rules.

Taking control of the meeting from the beginning sets the tone and helps keep chit chat to a minimum, thus keeping the meeting on track. In addition, team members should be reminded to show respect for those presenting by actively listening and refraining from checking telephone messages, texts, or e-mails. Throughout the meeting, the leader should encourage participation of team members. The meeting should be concluded by summarizing what was presented, describing the next steps or actions to be taken, and asking the team members whether they have any questions. Allow time at the end of the meeting for team members to talk about issues or concerns.

Conclusion

Today, nurses must learn to work on intra-professional and inter-professional teams to achieve the shared goal of delivering safe and quality care. Intra-professional teamwork contributes to overall nurse satisfaction, which in turn leads to safer and higher-quality care. To work in inter-professional teams requires a shift in the health-care culture of individual experts to a cooperative and collaborative team environment. Team members integrate expertise and optimize care for patients.

Nurses must be relentless in pursuing and fostering a sense of team and partnership across all health-care professions (ANA, 2010). Nurse leaders and managers can positively impact the stability needed to accommodate the dynamics and complexity of the health-care system by collaborating with patients and families, intra-professional and inter-professional colleagues, the community, and other stakeholders to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

Nurse leaders and man agers are critical to the development of successful work teams. A strong synergistic relationship between staff members and nurse leaders and managers results in safe and quality patient-centered care.

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