Teams are not static entities; they evolve and change over time, depending on the prevailing environment. Tuckman’s stages of team development forming, storming, norming and performing-is one model that describes how teams develop, or not, as the case may be. However, while this is a useful framework for a project team, where all members come together at the one time and stay in place for the duration, it is not wholly appropriate in the workplace where teams are constantly changing as individuals join and leave.
As an alternative, rather than view team development from this progressive model perspective, consider differing states of team effectiveness. After all, a team is judged on its ability to achieve the required outcomes, not necessarily on how long it has been in existence.
Using the same parameters as for the leadership styles model in Q32, three states of team effectiveness, and their implications for leadership style, can be considered:
States of Team Effectiveness
- Ineffective state: At times, teams can be described as being ineffective in terms of achieving outcomes or in bonding together, perhaps due to the fact that many of the members are new, or because there has been a breakdown within the team of some kind. Equally, a new work practice might have been introduced and the team could be considered ineffective on that activity until they have mastered the new approach. In reality, many factors can make a team ineffective and no team can excel on all occasions.
- Excelling state: At the opposite end of the scale, a team might be deemed excelling when it is working well as a unit and outcomes are being achieved that surpass expectations. All teams can go through a ‘purple patch’ at times, where everything just runs to perfection. Of course, the ideal is to build up a team that excels most of the time.
- Effective state: In the middle, a team can be described as effective, which means it is working well and delivering on expectations.
These three states perhaps are a more accurate portrayal of what happens in the real world when it comes to teams in the workplace. Rather than progress through definable stages, teams can shift back and forth through the three states.
Viewing teams as fluctuating between different states of effectiveness is also useful from a leader’s perspective, as it can give you some guidance regarding what leadership style to apply. Where a team is ineffective, you need to adopt the steering style of leadership until you have them performing at the level you want. An effective team responds best to an engaging style of leadership, while a team that is excelling will be ready for the facilitating leadership style.
Reflect on your own team, or if not already a leader, think of the team you currently work in:
- What state(s) of effectiveness does it operate in most of the time? Are there wild fluctuations? What causes these fluctuations?
- How does your (or your leader’s) leadership style vary in response?
- What might be done differently to keep the team in an effective state more of the time, or to progress it to an excelling state?
- How does the climate in the team change with the state of effectiveness?
As a leader, it is important that you monitor your team’s state of effectiveness constantly and take pro-active measures to address any blockages that you find.
