Introduction to Group Development and definition of groups.

A group can be described as a collection of two or more people. Group can be a Formal and
Informal groups. A Formal group is a group established by the organization itself to archive a
desired targeted goal or task of the organization (Ebrary, 2020). An example of formal group
is Command Group. This type of group is specified by the organizational chart and consists
of at least one supervisor and the other subordinates which they report to supervisors above
them. Like the Head of Accountant for Audit and the associates below him. Another example
would be Task Group. This type of group is formed by the organization to archive a common
task. In the task group subordinates are gather in a group and are assigned to complete a
desired task with a specify time period. For instance, like project group of a company.

An Informal group is a group that was not form by the organization or controlled by them
(Ebrary, 2020). It could have been formed by, on the working environment basis or for a
particular social need voluntarily by a group of individuals. An example of informal group is
a Friendship group. In this type of group are created by individuals who enjoy shared
common characteristics, religious values, age, social interactions, political views, or other
shared bonds. Members enjoy each other’s company and sometimes meet after work to
engage in these events. Another example is Interest Group. Interest groups typically continue
over time and can last longer than other informal groups in general. Members of an interest
group may not be part of the same branch of the association, but they are tied together by
other mutual interests. This is for instance a group or members with similar interest for come
out with the idea to create awareness and educate people to practice a healthy working
environment and lifestyle.
5 Stages of Group Development

Group development is a process of how to work efficiently together as a group. The five
stages of group development are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
This process is believed to increase the performance of the group and it has been proven by
high performing groups that are successful in EY.

1. Forming

This is the period of getting to know each member of the group and this will happen on the
first official meeting of the group. They will introduce themselves to each other and share
information like their weakness, strength, and experience. Then the group will discuss the
goals and purpose of the group itself. Sometimes they will also decide to appoint one of the
group members be the leader if they did not have any. In this stage, the growth of group will
depends on the group leader because he/she must ensure all group members to understand
and provide a clear direction to set the group member to have the same goal with the group
member (Project Management, 2020). In Ernst and Young (EY), the first process will be the
same with other companies because it is common in every group to have introduction in
between members. But the company will encourage the employees to step out of their
comfort zone by giving them a new group on project to challenges them every day.

2. Storming

The group members are given their individual task and their additional role inside the group.
This stage is unavoidable especially for a new group that has not worked together before. The
group members need to brainstorm ideas and compete within the group members to gain
respect and acceptance for their ideas. Usually in this stage, the members will come out with
different ideas or solution for the project. In EY, the group member will be mentored by the
leaders because EY believes that learning and development is a continuous thing to increase
an individual’s skill. The leader also needs to listen to the group members and respect their
opinion and differences in the ideas. EY has a leadership model that is believed to be
transformative because the value and leadership behavior can help to make a better working
environment for EY clients and employees.
At this point, the group leader should start to give some decision making to the group to make
them more independent but still involved to resolve any conflicts as quickly as possible to
prevent from more problems. This stage is very crucial for the performance of the group
because this stage will be the foundation of the group morale and motivation (Project
Management, 2020). If the group has too much conflict, the morale and motivation of the
group will be overall low, and it will be tough to complete the project.

3. Norming

Group members should have understood their individual roles and task inside the group. Then
they also should be able to work with each other and provide aid to each other when a
member is in trouble. They should be getting along with the whole group and establish a
good relationship or a bond between them. Respecting each other can be one of the ways to
have a good relationship with the group member. The leader must also monitor the members
because conflict still can occur in this stage (Project Management, 2020). Even though the
leader should monitor the members, but he/she must not be involve in the decision making
and problem solving that occurs in between the members because this can strengthen their
bond and increase the performance of the members by working together. While for EY, they
will use the help of 0technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help determine the best
solution to their problem and to cut the risk of having conflicts between the group members.
The tech will also navigate the challenges that are ahead of the group.

4. Performing

The group needs to deliver or complete the group goals or objectives. The transition from
Norming to Performing is important because the group must execute all the plans and ideas
that they committed. The group needs to focus on reaching the goal together. If a group can
make it into this level, the group believes to have a good relationship with each other because
the group functions without oversight and the members have become interdependent. They
are all motivated to finish the project. The members are also able to do problem solving and
decision making quickly and efficiently. As for the performance in the group, it will have
additional assistance from the AI and it will ease the process of reaching the goal faster and
with lesser problem (Project Management, 2020). They also would probably have
experienced a lot of teamwork because of their large number of clients in the company.
5. Adjourning

At this last stage, the group has accomplished their objective or goals and will be disbanded
soon. The members will move on to different direction and the group will look back at the
well-being of the group. The group leader should celebrate the success of the group and
capture the best practice for the future of them (Project Management, 2020). It is likely that a
group can succeed in achieving their goal if they are able to reach the performing stage. The
group members will also be likely to keep in touch with each other as they have made a
strong bond with each other. When a group has successfully reached their goal, EY will
award them with badges that will help them to increase their skills in leadership or inclusive
intelligence. The badges also can continuously improve and transform the employees
This article provides background on each stage and an example of a team going through all five
stages.

Stage 1: Forming

The "forming" stage takes place when the team first meets each other. In this first meeting, team
members are introduced to each. They share information about their backgrounds, interests and
experience and form first impressions of each other. They learn about the project they will be
working on, discuss the project's objectives/goals and start to think about what role they will play on
the project team. They are not yet working on the project. They are, effectively, "feeling each other
out" and finding their way around how they might work together.

During this initial stage of team growth, it is important for the team leader to be very clear about
team goals and provide clear direction regarding the project. The team leader should ensure that all
of the members are involved in determining team roles and responsibilities and should work with
the team to help them establish how they will work together ("team norms"). The team is
dependent on the team leader to guide them.

Stage 2: Storming

As the team begins to work together, they move into the "storming" stage. This stage is not
avoidable; every team - most especially a new team who has never worked together before - goes
through this part of developing as a team. In this stage, the team members compete with each other
for status and for acceptance of their ideas. They have different opinions on what should be done
and how it should be done - which causes conflict within the team. As they go progress through this
stage, with the guidance of the team leader, they learn how to solve problems together, function
both independently and together as a team, and settle into roles and responsibilities on the team.
For team members who do not like conflict, this is a difficult stage to go through.

The team leader needs to be adept at facilitating the team through this stage - ensuring the team
members learn to listen to each other and respect their differences and ideas. This includes not
allowing any one team member to control all conversations and to facilitate contributions from all
members of the team. The team leader will need to coach some team members to be more assertive
and other team members on how to be more effective listeners.

This stage will come to a closure when the team becomes more accepting of each other and learns
how to work together for the good of the project. At this point, the team leader should start
transitioning some decision making to the team to allow them more independence, but still stay
involved to resolve any conflicts as quickly as possible.

Some teams, however, do not move beyond this stage and the entire project is spent in conflict and
low morale and motivation, making it difficult to get the project completed. Usually teams
comprised of members who are professionally immature will have a difficult time getting past this
stage.

Stage 3: Norming
When the team moves into the "norming" stage, they are beginning to work more effectively as a
team. They are no longer focused on their individual goals, but rather are focused on developing a
way of working together (processes and procedures). They respect each other's opinions and value
their differences. They begin to see the value in those differences on the team. Working together as
a team seems more natural. In this stage, the team has agreed on their team rules for working
together, how they will share information and resolve team conflict, and what tools and processes
they will use to get the job done. The team members begin to trust each other and actively seek
each other out for assistance and input. Rather than compete against each other, they are now
helping each other to work toward a common goal. The team members also start to make significant
progress on the project as they begin working together more effectively.

In this stage, the team leader may not be as involved in decision making and problem solving since
the team members are working better together and can take on more responsibility in these areas.
The team has greater self-direction and is able to resolve issues and conflict as a group. On occasion,
however, the team leader may step in to move things along if the team gets stuck. The team leader
should always ensure that the team members are working collaboratively and may begin to function
as a coach to the members of the team.

Stage 4: Performing

In the "performing" stage, teams are functioning at a very high level. The focus is on reaching the
goal as a group. The team members have gotten to know each other, trust each other and rely on
each other.

Not every team makes it to this level of team growth; some teams stop at Stage 3: Norming. The
highly performing team functions without oversight and the members have become interdependent.
The team is highly motivated to get the job done. They can make decisions and problem solve
quickly and effectively. When they disagree, the team members can work through it and come to
consensus without interrupting the project's progress. If there needs to be a change in team
processes - the team will come to agreement on changing processes on their own without reliance
on the team leader.

In this stage, the team leader is not involved in decision making, problem solving or other such
activities involving the day-to-day work of the team. The team members work effectively as a group
and do not need the oversight that is required at the other stages. The team leader will continue to
monitor the progress of the team and celebrate milestone achievements with the team to continue
to build team camaraderie. The team leader will also serve as the gateway when decisions need to
be reached at a higher level within the organisation.

Even in this stage, there is a possibility that the team may revert back to another stage. For example,
it is possible for the team to revert back to the "storming" stage if one of the members starts
working independently. Or, the team could revert back to the "forming" stage if a new member joins
the team. If there are significant changes that throw a wrench into the works, it is possible for the
team to revert back to an earlier stage until they are able to manage through the change.

Stage 5: Adjourning
In the "adjourning" stage the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off into
different directions. This stage looks at the team from the perspective of the well-being of the team
rather than from the perspective of managing a team through the original four stages of team
growth.

The team leader should ensure that there is time for the team to celebrate the success of the project
and capture best practices for future use. (Or, if it was not a successful project - to evaluate what
happened and capture lessons learned for future projects). This also provides the team the
opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as they pursue their next
endeavour. It is likely that any group that reached Stage 4: Performing will keep in touch with each
other as they have become a very close knit group and there will be sadness at separating and
moving on to other projects independently.

Is the Team Effective or Not?

There are various indicators of whether a team is working effectively together as a group. The
characteristics of effective, successful teams include:

 Clear communication among all members

 Regular brainstorming session with all members participating

 Consensus among team members

 Problem solving done by the group

 Commitment to the project and the other team members

 Regular team meetings are effective and inclusive

 Timely hand off from team members to others to ensure the project keeps moving in the
right direction

 Positive, supportive working relationships among all team members

Teams that are not working effectively together will display the characteristics listed below. The
team leader will need to be actively involved with such teams. The sooner the team leader addresses
issues and helps the team move to a more effective way of working together, the more likely the
project is to end successfully.

 Lack of communication among team members

 No clear roles and responsibilities for team members

 Team members "throw work over the wall" to other team members, with lack of concern for
timelines or work quality

 Team members work alone, rarely sharing information and offering assistance

 Team members blame others for what goes wrong, no one accepts responsibility
  Team members do not support others on the team

 Team members are frequently absent thereby causing slippage in the timeline and
additional work for their team members

Example of a Team Moving Through the Five Stages

Background and Team Members

A team has been pulled together from various parts of a large service organisation to work on a new
process improvement project that is needed to improve how the company manages and supports its
client base. The team lead on this project is Sandra from the Chicago office who has 15 years
experience as a project manager/team lead managing process improvement projects.

The other members of the team include:

 Peter: 10 years experience on various types of projects, expertise in scheduling and budget
control (office location: San Diego)

 Sarah: 5 years experience as an individual contributor on projects, strong programming

 Mohammed: 8 years experience working on various projects, expertise in earned value

 Donna: 2 years experience as an individual contributor on projects (office location: New

 Ameya: 7 years experience on process improvement projects, background in developing

Sandra has worked on projects with Sarah and Mohammed, but has never worked with the others.
Donna has worked with Mohammed. No one else has worked with other members of this team.
Sandra has been given a very tight deadline to get this project completed.

Sandra has decided that it would be best if the team met face-to-face initially, even though they will
be working virtually for the project. She has arranged a meeting at the New York office (company
headquarters) for the entire team. They will spend 2 days getting introduced to each other and
learning about the project.

The Initial Meeting (Stage 1: Forming)

The day of the face-to-face meeting in New York has arrived. All team members are present. The
agenda includes:

 Personal introductions

 Team building exercises

 Information about the process improvement project

 Discussion around team norms for working together

 Introduction on how to use the SharePoint site that will be used for this project to share
ideas, brainstorm, store project documentation, etc

The team members are very excited to meet each other. Each of them has heard of one another,
although they have not worked together as a team before. They believe they each bring value to this
project. The team building exercises have gone well; everyone participated and seemed to enjoy the
exercises. While there was some discussion around roles and responsibilities - with team members
vying for "key" positions on the team - overall there was agreement on what needed to get done
and who was responsible for particular components of the project.

The onsite meeting is going well. The team members are getting to know each other and have been
discussing their personal lives outside of work - hobbies, family, etc. Sandra is thinking that this is a
great sign that they will get along well - they are engaged with each other and genuinely seem to like
each other!

The Project Work Begins (Stage 2: Storming)

The team members have gone back to their home offices and are beginning work on their project.
They are interacting via the SharePoint site and the project is off to a good start. And then the
arguments begin.

Peter has put up the project schedule based on conversations with only Mohammed and Ameya on
the team. Donna and Sarah feel as if their input to the schedule was not considered. They believe
because they are more junior on the team, Peter has completely disregarded their concerns about
the timeline for the project. They challenged Peter's schedule, stating that it was impossible to
achieve and was setting up the team for failure. At the same time, Sarah was arguing with Ameya
over who should lead the database design and development effort for this project. While Sarah
acknowledges that Ameya has a few years more experience than she does in database development,
she only agreed to be on this project in order to take a lead role and develop her skills further so she
could advance at the company. If she knew Ameya was going to be the lead she wouldn't have
bothered joining this project team. Additionally, Mohammed appears to be off and running on his
own, not keeping the others apprised of progress nor keeping his information up to date on the
SharePoint site. No one really knows what he has been working on or how much progress is being
made.

Sandra had initially taken a side role during these exchanges, hoping that the team would work it out
for themselves. However, she understands from past experience managing many project teams that
it is important for her to take control and guide the team through this difficult time. She convenes all
of the team members for a virtual meeting to reiterate their roles and responsibilities (which were
agreed to in the kick-off meeting) and to ensure that they understand the goals and objectives of the
project. She made some decisions since the team couldn't come to agreement. She determined that
Ameya would lead the database development design component of the project, working closely with
Sarah so she can develop further experience in this area. She reviewed the schedule that Peter
created with the team, making adjustments where necessary to address the concerns of Donna and
Sarah. She reminded Mohammed that this is a team effort and he needs to work closely with the
others on the team.

During the virtual meeting session, Sandra referred back to the ground rules the team set in their
face-to-face meeting and worked with the team to ensure that there was a plan in place for how
decisions are made on the team and who has responsibility for making decisions.

Over the next few weeks, Sandra noticed that arguments/disagreements were at a minimum and
when they did occur, they were worked out quickly, by the team, without her involvement being
necessary. Still, she monitored how things were going and held regular virtual meetings to ensure
the team was moving in the right direction. On a monthly basis, Sandra brings the team together for
a face-to-face meeting. As the working relationships of the team members started improving, Sandra
started seeing significant progress on the project.

All is Going Smoothly (Stage 3: Norming)

The team has now been working together for nearly 3 months. There is definitely a sense of
teamwork among the group. There are few arguments and disagreements that can't be resolved
among the team. They support each other on the project - problem solving issues, making decisions
as a team, sharing information and ensuring that the ground rules put in place for the team are
followed.

Additionally, the team members are helping each other to grow and develop their skills. For
example, Ameya has worked closely with Sarah to teach her many of the skills he has learned in
database design and development and she has been able to take the lead on accomplishing some of
the components of their aspect of the project.

Overall, the team members are becoming friends. They enjoy each other's company - both while
working on the project and after hours via communicating on email, via instant messaging, on
Twitter, or over the telephone.

Significant Progress is Made! (Stage 4: Performing)

The team is now considered a "high performing team." It wasn't easy getting to this stage but they
made it! They are working effectively as a group - supporting each other and relying on the group as
a whole to make decisions on the project. They can brainstorm effectively to solve problems and are
highly motivated to reach the end goal as a group. When there is conflict on the team - such as a
disagreement on how to go about accomplishing a task - the group is able to work it out on their
own without relying on the team leader to intervene and make decisions for them. The more junior
members - Donna and Sarah - have really developed their skills with the support and help of the
others. They have taken on leadership roles for some components of the project.

Sandra checks in with the team - praising them for their hard work and their progress. The team
celebrates the milestones reached along the way. When necessary, Sandra provides a link from the
team to the executives for decisions that need to come from higher up or when additional support is
needed.
The project is on time and within budget. Milestones are being met - some are even ahead of
schedule. The team is pleased with how well the project is going along, as is Sandra and the
executives of the organisation.

Time to Wrap Up (Stage 5: Adjourning)

The project has ended. It was a huge success! The internal customer is pleased and there is definitely
an improvement in how the company supports its clients. It has been a great 8 months working
together…with some ups and downs of course. Each of the individuals on the project will be moving
to other projects within the organisation, but no one is going to be on the same project. They will
miss working with each other but have vowed to remain friends and keep in touch on a personal
level - hopefully to work together again soon!

The team has gotten together in the New York office to discuss the project, including documenting
best practices and discussing what worked effectively and what they would improve upon given the
chance to do it again. Sandra has taken the team out to dinner. They are joined by the project
sponsor and some other executives who are extremely pleased with the end result.

The End!

This is a simplistic view of a team working through the five stages of team development. I hope it
provides some benefit to you.

Remember that at any time this team could revert back to a previous stage. Let's assume that
another individual joins the team - the team will revert back to the "forming" stage as they learn
how to work with the new team member; reestablishing team guidelines, finding their way again,
and learning how to work cohesively as a team. Or, let's assume that Mohammed slips back into his
old ways of keeping to himself and not sharing information with the team - this may cause the team
to revert back to the "storming" stage.

Summary

It is important to remember that every team - regardless of what the team is working on - will follow
these stages of team development. It is the job of the team leader to help see the team through
these stages; to bring them to the point where they are working as effectively as possible toward a
common goal.