Effective teamwork is essential in today’s world, but supervisors can’t expect a new team to perform exceptionally from the outset. Team formation takes time and usually follows some recognizable stages as a team journeys from a group of strangers to becoming a united force. An understanding of these stages can help the team quickly become productive.

Psychologist Bruce Tuckman did landmark work back in the 1960’s on the concept of stages of an organization. His model includes five stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. This model has been the basis for a great deal of the work that has followed on organizational development and group dynamics. Helping New Teams Perform Effectively, Quickly provides a useful overview of Tuckman’s stages of team development.

Team performance is also dependent on retaining valued team members. Restoring Commitment to Prevent Resignations helps to recognize and avoid the issues that might push a team member to leave. Included is a step-by-step approach to help avoid potential pitfalls to continue to get the best from your team.