Teams

While we acknowledge the Trojan work done by teachers every year to bring their students to the Student Enterprise Awards we realise (from visiting schools in the Dublin area) that there are some areas on which teachers would like a little guidance and we hope we can address these for you.

Teams are an important way of working in modern society and it is very useful to every student to gain experience of working in a team setting but it is also very important for them to realise that working within a team puts expectations on everybody and these are not always well received.

It is also important for everybody to realise the different stages of team formation particularly in relation to the stresses and progress or lack of progress that occurs at every stage.

Teams go through distinct stages as identified by Tuckman:

Forming - in this stage everybody is wary as they do not really know each other and they don't trust each other enough to bring confrontation into the open. Everybody is in the same position and there is a certain amount of infomation hoaring going on. This is a perfectly normal part of a team and it does not mean the job cannot get done. It just takes a little more work and commitment.
Storming - this is the stage where conflict comes out into the open. People begin to try to voice their opinions and everybody is feeling vulnerable about where they stand in the team. Again this a perfectly normal part of team dynamics and should be expected.
Norming - At this stage people begin to realise the roles they can play in the team effort. They are not so vulnerable and the whole process starts to come together so that they start to meet deadlines and to motivate each other.
Permorming - by now things are getting done and results are being witnessed and everybody can see results for the effort they have put in.

Making sure that teams have time and support as they go through the various stages can ensure that the effort is rewarding for everybody and that the learning process is accentuated for everybody.

Remember we all have to learn to work like this and it is not always pleasant

Give advice, support and a listening ear but try to get everybody in the team through these stages of evolution.

During our workshops we often address this issue as students are often asked by judges how they worked as a team and the correct answer is to tell the truth and often this is about acknowledging a learning process that takes place when you work as a team and about learning about other peoples' boundaries and even how to motivate people in a team to work together.

Select a section to continue: