Day Two: Stages of Team
Development (Troop Presentation)
Time Allowed 50 minutes

Learning Objectives As a result of this activity, participants will

• Develop the ability to recognize the stage of development associated with a team.

• Understand the characteristics of each of the four stages of team development.

• Understand the concepts of productivity and morale and how they relate to the four stages of team development.

Materials Needed

• Overhead projector and transparencies or posters illustrating the team development graphical models

• “Stages of Team Development” handout (a copy for each participant)

• Key points of the session, presented as PowerPoint slides, overhead projections, or flip-chart pages

• A hat and a set of patrol medallions

Recommended Facility Layout Troop meeting area

Delivery Method Presentation and discussion

References • National Youth Leadership Training, Boy Scouts of America, 2005.

• K. Blanchard, D. Carew, and E. Parisi-Carew, The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams, Morrow, 2000.

• P. Hersey, K. Blanchard, and D. Johnson, Management of Organizational Behaviot?, Prentice Hall, 1996. Note to presenters:Thorough preparation is essential for the success of this session. In particular, presenters should do the following well in advance of the course.

1. Master the model. Your success in this activity will depend on your familiarity with the Stages of Team Development. Carefully study the model, and figure out what is happening in each step and how the steps are linked.

2. Create a case study. Make up a story that illustrates the Stages of Team Development. This is what you will be asking the participants to do, and you need a good example. You can base your story on one of your successful projects in Scouting. If you do so, don’t let facts get in the way of a good story that clearly tracks the team’s growth through the stages. If you are adventurous, create a story around a popular TV show. Avoid stories based on athletic team examples.

Presentation
Procedure

Brief the Participants

Using your own words, introduce the Stages of Team Development.

Background notes: Educational psychologist Bruce W. Tuckman suggested that all teams go through four distinctive stages in their development. The four stages were originally referred to as Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. The basic model has been in use for the past four decades. The model has important implications for organizing, building, and leading a team.

Illustrate Team Development

There are a variety of ways to illustrate team development. We’ll use the following:

Show slide 2-16, • Forming stage = “Pickup Sticks” Stages of Team Development • Storming stage = “At Odds”

• Norming stage = “Coming Around”

• Per forming stage = “As One”

Discuss with the participants their interpretations of the illustration.

Two important variables are woven through the four stages: Enthusiasm and Skill Level. Unlike skill level, enthusiasm starts out high and then takes a sudden dip. As differences are explored, expectations are aligned with reality, and the team achieves results, enthusiasm begins to rise. Ultimately, both enthusiasm and skill level are high as the team becomes a high-performing team.

Show the video:

Theme: Models for Success

Title: Forming

Running time: 3 minutes, 10 seconds

Source: Remember the Titans, Walt Disney Pictures, 2000

This clip is located 9 minutes, 50 seconds from the video’s opening title. The clip begins with a young African American player saying, “Come on, y’all. How many yards you going to get this season?”

Commentary to set up the showing of this video clip: Remember the Titans is based on a true story. The year is 1971.The high school is being integrated for the first time. A new coach, Herman Boone, has been appointed to take over the football team, replacing a highly successful and popular coach who has been demoted to assistant coach. Boone is tough, opinionated, and as opposite of the old coach as he could be. The movie tells the story of how the coaches and the players overcame their differences and became a team.

This clip depicts the Forming stage of team development. It begins just prior to the first meeting between some of the players and their new coach.

Watch the team for indications of the Forming stage: eagerness, high and unrealistic expectations, anxiety about how players will fit in, what demands will be placed on them. Team members are unclear about expectations, rules, roles and goals. There is high dependence on the leadership figure for purpose and direction, and the new coach provides it quickly and clearly. At this stage, team morale is high and team productivity is low.

Stop the video and discuss the Forming stage.

Show the video:

Theme: Models for Success

Title: Storming

Running time: 2 minutes, 2 seconds

Source: Remember the Titans, Walt Disney Pictures, 2000

This clip is located 24 minutes, 30 seconds from the video’s opening title. The clip begins with a Caucasian team member saying to an African American team member: “I’m Gerry, you’re Julius. Let’s get some particulars and get this over!’

Commentary to set up the showing of this video clip: This video clip illustrates the Storming stage. The scene features two players, both speaking on behalf of others. Clear factions have formed within the team, and morale is low. Look for signs of the Storming stage: difficulty working together, frustration, negativity, communication breakdowns, and dissatisfaction with leadership— in this instance with the team captain, not the coach.

Stop the video and discuss the Storming stage.
Show the video:

Theme: Models for Success

Title: Norming
Running time: 1 minute, 49 seconds

Source: Remember the Titans, Walt Disney Pictures, 2000

This clip is located 1 hour, 6 minutes, 12 seconds from the video’s opening title. The clip begins in the locker room with the coach asking his players, “What’s going on?” One player responds, “Coach, we want you to know we are going to warm up a little different tonight!’

Commentary to set up the showing of this video clip: This video clip illustrates the Norming stage. Attitudes and morale are improving. There is a willingness to share responsibility and control. Things to watch for in this clip, all of which indicate the Norming stage, are: euphoric, positive feelings; team members valuing the differences among themselves; team members start thinking “we” rather than “I.” Clearly the climate has changed. There is increased commitment to purpose, roles, goals, and working together. The team has not necessarily transformed itself into a high-performing team yet, but it is coming around. By the way, this is a rather humorous clip.

Stop the video and discuss the Norming stage.

Show the video:

Theme: Models for Success

Title: Performing

Running time: 1 minute, 29 seconds

Source: Remember the Titans, Walt Disney Pictures, 2000

This clip is located 1 hour, 37 minutes, 14 seconds from the video’s opening title. The clip begins with the coach saying, “We’re in a fight. You boys are doing all that you can do:’

Commentary to set up the showing of this video clip: The last clip depicts the Performing stage. At this stage both productivity and morale are high. There is a sense of pride and excitement in being part of a high-performing team. The primary focus is on performance. Purpose and goals are clear. There is commitment to continuous improvement. Watch for pride and confidence. Communication is open and leadership is shared.

The scene takes place at halftime of the biggest game of the season—and the Titans are losing the game.

Commentary following the clip: After that halftime meeting, the team had the confidence to take control of its own performance and destiny. The team went back out on the field, played like a high-performing team, and won the game. Stop the video and discuss the Performing stage.

Tell Your Story

Use your personal story to illustrate the stages of team development.

Assign the Story-Creation Task Ask each patrol to create a story to illustrate the stages of team development. The story may be based on a patrol member’s experience, or a historical event, Show slide 2-17 or some popular TV show. The story should clearly illustrate the different stages. The patrols have 11 minutes to create the story.

Conduct a Storytelling Session Give the patrols a one-minute warning. Ask them to make finishing touches on the story and to select a representative to present it to the whole group. Explain to the patrols that time restrictions will only allow for the presentation of four of the stories. Place the eight patrol medallions in a hat and choose four. Ask each of the patrols (in the order they were selected from the hat) to send its storyteller to the front of the room. Ask this person to present the story.

Conclude With a Caveat Briefly comment on the stories and congratulate the patrols on their understanding of the stages of team development. In your own words, explain the advantages of mastering the stages. • The stages enable us to anticipate what a team is likely to go through. This will prevent team members from being surprised or depressed by various events Show slide 2-18, such as disagreements during the “Storming” stage. Team Development.

• The stages enable us to use appropriate strategies to smooth the progress of a team as it evolves. For example, we can suggest a procedure for establishing ground rules for a team in the “Norming” stage. • Different teams may proceed through different stages at different speeds, a process that can be affected by the fact that team members may also have Show slide 2-19. varying rates of progress. Members of a team should avoid making self- fulfilling prophecies about how long each stage will last. • A team may sometimes regress to an earlier stage. For example, team members may return to a previous stage if they discover that the team’s mission or Show slide 2-20. membership has changed, such as when a significant number of new boys are added to a patrol. • It is possible for a team to be in different stages with respect to different aspects of its mission. For example, it may still be in the “Storming” stage with respect to implementing its final plan, even while it is in the “Performing” stage with respect to efficiently generating ideas for the plan.

(Provide one copy to each participant as a handout during the presentation.):

Stages of Team Development

1. The first stage in a team’s development is the Forming stage (“Pickup Sticks”). Come with high, unrealistic expectations. These expectations are accompanied by some anxiety about how they will fit in, how much they can trust others, and what demands will be placed on them. Team members are also unclear about norms, roles, goals, and timelines. In this stage, there is high dependence on the leadership figure for purpose and direction. Behavior is usually tentative and polite. The major issues are personal well-being, acceptance, and trust.

2. The second stage in a team’s development is the Storming stage (“At Odds”). As the team gets some experience under its belt, there is a dip in morale as team members experience a discrepancy between their initial expectations and reality. The difficulties in accomplishing the task and in working together lead to confusion and frustration, as well as a growing dissatisfaction with dependence upon the leadership figure. Negative reactions to each other develop, and subgroups form, which polarize the team.The breakdown of communication and the inability to problem-solve result in lowered trust. The primary issues in this stage concern power, control, and conflict.

3. The third stage in a team’s development is the Norming stage (“Coming Around”). As the issues encountered in the second stage are addressed and resolved, morale begins to rise. Task accomplishment and technical skills increase, which contributes to a positive, even euphoric, feeling. There is increased clarity and commitment to purpose, values, norms, roles, and goals. Trust and cohesion grow as communication becomes more open and task-oriented. There is a willingness to share responsibility and control. Team members value the differences among themselves. The team starts thinking in terms of “we” rather than “I.” Because the newly developed feelings of trust and cohesion are fragile, team members tend to avoid conflict for fear of losing the positive climate. This reluctance to deal with conflict can slow progress and lead to less effective decisions. Issues at this stage concern the sharing of control and avoidance of conflict.

4. The fourth stage in a team’s development is the Performing stage (“As One”). At this stage, both productivity and morale are high, and they reinforce one another. There is a sense of pride and excitement in being part of a high-performing team. The primary focus is on performance. Purpose, roles, and goals are clear. Standards are high, and there is a commitment to not only meeting standards, but to continuous improvement. Team members are confident in their ability to perform and overcome obstacles. They are proud of their work and enjoy working together. Communication is open and leadership is shared. Mutual respect and trust are the norms. Issues include continued refinements and growth.