Team Types and Its Lifecycles

With this tip I’m closing the “3 minute tips” series about teams. You have enough to look around the site and reflect about teams. Today I’m talking about the differente team types that exists and the stages the team goes through in its lifecycle.

There are several types of teams and each of them has a different purpose, let’s take a look and see which one fits best our particular interests

Team Types

The team types you can consider for team building are:

  • Problem Solving Teams(PST):These teams are the most common. They are typically formed to bring in different backgrounds and experiences to face a given situation. Basically they give recommendations and the management staff makes decisions based on those recommendations.
  • Self Directed Work Teams(SDWT):Most of the time these teams are groups of employees brought together to deliver products or services. They have the right to make decisions within the boundaries set by management.
  • Leadership Teams(LT):The main reason to form a Leadership Team is to use the “collective wisdom” of different managers in the organisation to shape strategies that represent the integration of all the functions in the company. The main output of team like this are strategic plans and organizational decisions.
  • Dispersed Teams(DT):this kind of team has members who are not located in the same place. And most of the time their members are in different countries, have different cultures and of course live in different time zones. These teams are much like PST’s but they also face “differences” challenges, which in the long term is what makes them unique.

Now that we have a glimpse of the team types, is important to look at the stages the teams must go through their lifecycle.  

The stages in the lifecycle of a Team

In the classic model of group formation by Tuckman and Jensen (1977), you can see that the group (team) has five stages in its lifecycle. As cited by Huszczo (2004).

  1. Forming:Clarifying the tasks and getting members acquainted.
  2. Storming:Encouraging expressions of differente points of view in a constructive manner and resolving the natural competition for inlfuence among the team members.
  3. Norming:Establishing the team’s standards for performance and the unwritten rules that govern members’ behaviors.
  4. Performing:Accomplishing the tasks and fullfilling the team’s mission.
  5. Closing(adjourning):Disbanding the team. Wrap up notes and a lessons learned journal are a big plus in this stage.
So far, so good. I think now you have a good glimpse of what a team is, the types of teams that exists and its lifecycle, you know also how to identify a successful team, and the factors that lead to that success.

LEADERSHIP ACTIONS

Answer and reflect upon the following questions
  1. Can you identify any of the four type teams in your organization? 
  2. Do you need a team right now? What for? What kind to team?
  3. Create a checklist to ensure all the five stages in the lifecycle of the team are well accomplished.

Further Investigation and References

Kanaga, K.; Browning, H. (2003)“Mantaining Team Performance”
Center for Creative Leadership

Tuckman, B.; Jensen, M. (1977)“Stages of Small-Group Development Revisited” Group & Organization Management, Vol. 2, No. 4, 419-427 
Sage Publications

Huszczo, G. (2004)“Tools for Team Leadership: Delivering the X-Factor in Team eXcellence”
Davies-Black Publishing

Be Alert, Be A Leader. :)

 

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