15. Team Process

1. forming: 

Group members getting to know each other.

Greater uncertainty and anxiety amongst group members and greater dependence on the leader at this stage.

1.1 Forming:  Status differentiation

Group differentiates members based on status characteristics

Task-specific status characteristics: skills, education, job experience

Diffuse status characteristics: unrelated to task but assumed to provide useful information (i.e., age, gender, verbal persuasiveness, emotion)

2. storming

Relationship Conflict : Examples include conflicts about personal taste, political preferences, values, and interpersonal style.

Task Conflict: Examples include conflicts about the distribution of resources, procedures and policies, and judgments and interpretation of facts.

3. norming:  explicit or implicit standards or guiding principles of group

Members seeking a balance of individuality with group norms

A shared group culture or climate forms which influences individual behavior

4. performing: Energy is devoted to accomplishing goals.

5. Adjourning: Occurs when goals are met and the group is no longer needed

6. Punctuated Equilibrium Model

Model Assumptions: Groups want balance between task and interpersonal needs. Not just about performance.

Cycles of inertia (not moving toward goals) and rapid change. Not lockstep stages.

Time and deadlines affect this balance and cycles.

Mid-point is KEY.

7. Team Member Pacing Styles

Early Starters

Steady Workers

Procrastinators

8. Implications of Group Process Models

Managers need to

-be patient with group formation

-Be clear about tasks and deadlines

-Do not just avoid or discourage conflict

-Be aware of differences in pacing styles