Team development

Stages of Team development at Barclays Bank Stages of Team development at Barclays Bank Teams are like pillars of an organization and just like Aube states it, they may be formed for various reasons and can either be vertical or horizontal or even virtual (Aube & Tremblay, 2011). Teams are literally the active functioning groups in an organization and most organizations would prefer to work in teams than individuals since the with former, one can easily learn from the each other, and a mistake will be easily identified and corrected than with the later.
It is because of the emerging issues around the team development process that Bruce Tuckman in 1965 proposed the four stages of group development which he together with Jeanson in 2010, corrected by adding the fifth stage. The duo proposed that a small group passes through five stages to get fully matured (Tuckman & Jensen, 2010). They proposed the paths to include; forming, storming, norming, performing and finally the adjourning stages. It is for this reason that any team leader should endeavor to know the characteristics of each stage so that he/she can find and adopt the necessary skills to deal with the members challenges. The following essay is about the stages passed through by the sales team formed by Barclays Bank to increase their market share by selling loans and other products to which I was a member.
Forming Stage
This stage was characterized by a lot of curiosity and excitement as many of us were not yet sure of the real purpose of the team. Most people at this stage did not know each other and their ability/skills. However, the team members were polite and receptive to each other. The team leader was very initiative and more result-oriented. He introduced us to major tasks in a bid to maximize friendly atmosphere to see tasks adopted and completed in time. He was very directive at this level and walked through the team giving directions.
Storming Stage
Here we had several disagreements and conflicts amongst ourselves as other members realized the tasks were quite challenging. Some colleagues became totally incorporative with each other, even questioning the authority of the team leader and his roles other thereby fuelling the conflicts. This, however, is expected at this stage according to (Eyre & Mind Tool Team, 2014). They suggest that the leader should be assertive and more positive to the main goal, skills that were absent in our team leader. They recommend that He/she should even consider training members on conflict resolution and explain to them that whatever was happening at that stage was normal (Eyre & Mind Tool Team, 2014). This was not the case with our leader.
Norming
Funnily, at this, level, the team witnessed more reconciliation amongst the members as they got to understand each other better. We had more interactions and consultations amongst ourselves. The team leader was also very creative going by his decision to organize a team building bash for us. The team members behavior at this stage was a reminiscent of the expected characteristics of this stage according to Elizabeth. However, some members almost tripped back to making grudges with other colleagues but this was resolved, and they got back together well.
Performing Stage
We arrived at this stage after the conflicts in the previous stages had been resolved. The goal of the team was met but with two members less. These were members who decided to quit at the second stage. Most employees now understood their roles and could perform them with ease. Supervision and guidance roles were reduced, and the leader devolved some of his functions to more knowledgeable members as he/she embarked on developing others. All these happened because the team leader remained focused on his duties.
Majorly the problems facing group development at Barclays is poor leadership. This was addressed by training the group leaders on the challenges of groups and how to overcome them.
Bibliography
Aube, C. B. R. & Tremblay, 2011. Team size and quality of group experience: the more the merrier?. Group Dynamics theory, research and practice, pp. 357-375.
Eyre, E. & team, M. T., n. d. Forming, storming, norming, and performing-understanding the stages of team formation.. [Online]
Available at: http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newLDR-86. htm
[Accessed 28th April 2015].
Tuckman, B. W. & Jensen, M. A. C., 2010. Stages of group development revisisted. Research and application Journal, pp. 40-50.