The document describes a five-stage model of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. In the forming stage, team members get acquainted and establish expectations. Storming involves internal conflicts as goals are clarified. During norming, close relationships form through cooperation and trust. In performing, the team is fully functional and accomplishes goals. Finally, adjourning involves preparing for the team's disbandment. The document also discusses managing conflicts that may arise during different stages and the shift from traditional management to a leadership environment.

1. Team Development

2. The Five-Stage Team Development
Model
 Just as infants develop in certain ways during their first
months of life, many experts argue that groups develop
in a predictable manner. One of the most popular
models identifies five stages (see Figure below)
through which groups develop into effective teams:

3. The Five-Stage Team Development
Model

4. Forming Stage
 During this initial stage the members get acquainted
with each other and understand the scope of the
project.
 They begin to establish ground rules by trying to find
out what behaviours are acceptable with respect to
both the project (what role they will play, what
performance expectations are) and interpersonal
relations (who’s really in charge).
 This stage is completed once members begin to think
of themselves as part of a group.

5. Storming Stage
 As the name suggests, this stage is marked by a high degree
of internal conflict emotional response.
 As goals and objectives are clarified, team members see the
gap between reality and their initial expectations.
 They may experience dissatisfaction and begin to re-
examine their goals and structure.
 They may also question the role of the team leader or other
team members and become defensive or competitive.
 As these conflicts are resolved, the project manager’s
leadership becomes accepted, and the group moves to the
next stage.
 At this stage, it is critical for the project manager to keep
the team focused and provide encouragement.

6. Norming Stage
 The third stage is one in which close relationships
develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness.
 In this stage, team members begin to resolve conflicts
through increased cooperation and trust.
 They settle on ground rules and boundaries and
establish norms about how to work together.
 They rally around each other with common spirit and
goals and get down to work.
 In this stage, the project manager provides leadership
and continued encouragement.

7. Performing Stage
 The team operating structure at this point is fully
functional and
 accepted. Group energy has moved from getting to
know each other and how
 the group will work together to accomplishing the
project goals.

8. Adjourning.
 For conventional work groups, performing is the last stage
of their development. However, for project teams, there is a
completion phase.
 During this stage, the team prepares for its own
disbandment.
 High performance is no longer a top priority. Instead
attention is devoted to wrapping up the project.
 Responses of members vary in this stage.
 Some members are upbeat, relaxing in the project team’s
accomplishments.
 Others may be depressed over loss of camaraderie and
friendships gained during the project’s life.

9. Managing Conflict

10. Conflict
 Conflict is a disagreement between people caused by
personality differences, miscommunication, or technical
and administrative issues.
 If you have a heterogeneous project team—which is ideal—
you will experience conflict.
 Conflict exists in almost any human interaction and the
project manager must be prepared to deal with it.
 Don’t try to eliminate conflict, but manage it.

11. Conflict
 Conflict is beneficial when it pushes people to higher
levels of performance or when it results in the
development of new information that enhances the
decision-making process.
 However, an optimal level of conflict increases
organizational effectiveness.
 It produces self-evaluation and innovation.

12. Conflict
 Little or no conflict decreases effectiveness in the
organization.
 Lack of conflict produces apathy, stagnation, and a lack of
new ideas.
 A high level of conflict also decreases effectiveness in the
organization.
 It creates disruption, chaos, and a lack of cooperation.
 Conflict is detrimental when it impedes project objectives
with no-positive consequences

13. Potential sources of conflicts

14. FIVE WAYS A PROJECT MANAGER
CAN HANDLE CONFLICTS

15. 1. Mediate the conflict.
 The manager intervenes and tries to negotiate a resolution
by using reasoning and persuasion, suggesting alternatives
and the like.
 One of the keys is trying to find common ground.
 In some cases the project manager can make the argument
that the win/lose interchange has escalated to the point
that it has become lose/lose for everyone and now is the
time to make concessions.

16. 2. Arbitrate the conflict.
 The manager imposes a solution to the conflict after listening to each
party.
 The goal is not to decide who wins but to have the project win.
 In doing so, it is important to seek a solution that allows each party to
save face; otherwise the decision may provide only momentary relief.
 One project manager admits that she has had great success using a
King Solomon approach to resolving conflict.
 She confided she announces a solution that neither party will like and
gives the opponents two hours to come up with a better solution they
can both agree on.

17. 3. Control the conflict.
 Reducing the intensity of the conflict by smoothing over
differences or interjecting humor is an effective strategy.
 If feelings are escalating, the manager can adjourn the
interaction and hope cooler heads prevail the next day.
 If the conflict continues to escalate, project assignments
may need to be rearranged if possible so that two parties
don’t have to work together.

18. 4. Accept it.
 In some cases the conflict will outlive the life of the
project and, though a distraction, it is one the manager
has to live with.

19. 5. Eliminate the conflict.
 Sometimes the conflict has escalated to the point that it is no
longer tolerable. In this case the manager removes the members
involved from the project.
 If there is a clear villain then only he or she should be removed.
 If, as is often the case, both parties are at fault, then it would be
wise if possible to eliminate both individuals.
 Their removal would give a clear signal to the others on the team
that this kind of behavior is unacceptable.

20. HOW INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS
CAN BE HANDLED

21. 6. Problem Solving
 This is a rational, fact-based approach where disputing
parties solve their differences by focusing on the issues,
looking at alternative approaches, and selecting the best
alternative.
 Problem solving may contain some elements of
compromising and smoothing.
 This is usually the most effective way to handle conflict.
 It helps the parties learn to work together to resolve
differences and find solutions that are not based on
emotion or power plays.

22. Compromising
 Compromising involves bargaining and searching for
solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to the
parties involved.
 Since compromise yields less than optimum results,
the project manager must weigh such actions against
program goals.

23. Smoothing
 Smoothing seeks to maintain friendly relations by
emphasizing common areas of agreement and de-
emphasizing areas of difference.
 Although it may not address the real issues, it may be
effective because identifying areas of agreement may
put the disagreement in clearer perspective.
 Thus, project work can often continue in areas where
there is agreement.

24. Withdrawing
 Withdrawing means retreating from the conflict issue.
 In this method, the person purposely ignores the conflict
because he/she wants to avoid causing problems, or he
withdraws from it out of fear, perhaps feeling inadequate to
resolve the issue.
 This method may be precarious because if the issue at
hand is important to the other party, withdrawing or
ignoring it may intensify the situation.
 However, it may be an appropriate strategy in situations
where other methods are not effective. For example, it may
be a temporary strategy to allow the other party to cool off
or to buy time to study the issue further.

25. Competing
 A strategy for managing conflict wherein your goal is
win while the other party loses.

26. Accommodating
 A strategy for managing conflict that involves giving
in to the other party’s needs and desires while
subordinating one’s own

27. Avoiding
 A strategy for managing conflict that involves
ignoring or failing to deal with the conflict

28. Leadership Environment
 The team-oriented method of working today is
different from the traditional hierarchical style of
management.
 The roles of superior (‘‘boss’’) and subordinate
(‘‘worker’’) have given way to equal adult-adult
relationships.
 In technical fields where the worker often knows more
about the job than the manager does, the equal adult-
adult relationships allow responsibility to be shared,
which increases quality and reduces project costs.

29. Leadership Environment
 In a leadership environment, as opposed to a
management environment, the project manager
becomes a partner or facilitator with the project team
to accomplish the work at hand.
 The project manager helps the team catch the vision of
what needs to be done, then provides what the team
needs to accomplish the work.

30. Differences between Management
and Leadership