TEAM DYNAMICS GROUP FORMING

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TEAM DYNAMICS GROUP FORMING

• Four steps in the process of change• Five stages in team development• Task: own situation

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“It’s easy to get the players, it’s getting them to play together that’s the tough

part.”

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QUALITY DEVELOPMENT = CONTINUOUS

CHANGE "One should bear in mind the fact that nothing is more

difficult in terms of preparation, more questionable in terms of success and more dangerous in terms of development than raise as someone who wants to innovate.

Those who benefit from to the old state will become enemies. He who wants to innovate, only will find faint defenders who could benefit from the new situation.

This faintness partly stems from fear of the ruling opponents, because the current situation is on their side. And partly from a distrust of the people who actually would believe in innovation but have not seen it realized yet.”

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), Il Principe p.83 (written in 1513,

published in 1532)

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FOUR STEPS IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGE

The process of quality development has to be accepted and supported by the whole school team.

The participation of every member of this team is essential if progress and results are strived after.

The process of change or innovation (eg. quality development) can be summarized and structured into four steps:

1. The Jump off2. The big confusion3. The new working4. The final incorporation

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1 THE JUMP OFFORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS By a small group of

enthusiastic people: the initiators or believers

They are very convinced and do not see all side effects of the process

Investment of a lot of energy

Aim to achieve ambitious goals rapidly

TIPS FOR THE MANAGEMENT

Keep the new process within the vision and mission

Organize communication between the management and the initiators

Focus on preconditions for success and facilitate success

Start with small groups Highlight the successful

experiences Organize dissemination

to the complete staff

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2 THE BIG CONFUSION

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

Innovation is introduced in the school or training centre = up scaling

Old and new are in competition, the old is not yet faded out and the new is not fully delivering

Nostalgia from non-believers for the known and secure past


Study of all aspects of the innovation before the introduction in the organization

Prepare all conditions to allow the innovation to be successful (material and human resources, time, working conditions, communication, additional training, ...)

Support those who try, don’t punish when they partially fail

Make clear there is no way back, innovation is the official policy

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3 THE NEW WORKING

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

Gradually the new method or innovation will start to deliver better results

Almost all staff are adopting (aspects off) the innovation


Evaluate the first results of the innovation on the scale

Adjust where needed Communicate about

progress and achieved goals

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4 THE FINAL INCORPORATIONORGANIZATIONAL

DEVELOPMENTS Innovation is fully

acquired and incorporated in the organization


Run the PDCA-cycle on the innovation

Fix the innovation as part of the normal practise

Continue with the cyclic improvement

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FIVE STAGES IN TEAM DEVELOPMENT

The description of the stages in team development are another way of looking at what happens when change or innovation is introduced.

1. Forming2. Storming3. Norming4. Performing5. Transforming / Adjourning

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1 FORMINGDEVELOPMENTS IN THE TEAM There is need to find the

own place in the new situation.

The members are slightly anxious.

The behaviour is polite, watchful and somewhat guarded.

The council depends on authority and its leader.


Define new goals and roles.

Provide orientation, take leadership.

Create structure. Work on trust and

inclusion.

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EXAMPLE AND TIPS FOR MANAGEMENT: The school starts with quality development, a quality coordinator is appointed and a quality council is put together.

Define what the quality coordinator and the quality council have to achieve, edit your own action on these goals.

Define the role and authority of the newly appointed quality coordinator.

Explain the relationship between the quality coordinator, the quality council, the management and the staff.

Inform the school staff about the process of quality development (new tasks and new responsibilities).

Assemble and prepare information about quality development.

Preside the start meeting of the quality council, give information about quality development and distribute tasks and responsibilities (who is Chairman, who takes the minutes, communication with staff, ...).,

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2 STORMINGDEVELOPMENTS IN THE TEAM The new ideas will

confront people and the traditional way of acting

Discrepancy between own hopes and the real world or achieved goals will arise

Feeling confused and incompetent

The council will fall apart into sub-groups, polarisation can arise

Dissatisfaction with the dependency on the authority


(Re-)define goals, tasks and responsibilities

Develop skills Remove emotional

blocks in the council Encourage the learning

by working together Organise explicitation

within your council about the struggle for influence, control and jockeying for the position

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EXAMPLE AND TIPS FOR MANAGEMENT: The quality coordinator started with a survey among the staff and expects the members of the quality council to process all assembled information and write a report on it. This idea was not discussed in detail in the quality council, some disagreed others made reservations.

Redefine the role and authority of the newly appointed quality coordinator, acknowledge his position as Chairman of the quality council.

Support the members of the quality council in their new task; make realistic work planning allowing time to treat the data from the survey; give good working infrastructure.

Provide IT training (Excel) to facilitate the processing of the surveys’ data.

Have personal interviews with team members about the situation, take an open position and listen but give a clear indication about with you expect.

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3 NORMINGDEVELOPMENTS IN THE TEAM Increase of satisfaction Lesser discrepancy

between expectations and reality

Greater sharing of responsibility and control in team, more open feed back

Establishment of new procedures and norms


Develop skills and understanding about new situation

Improve level of critical evaluation competences within team

Support / increase productivity and talk about this

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EXAMPLE AND TIPS FOR MANAGEMENT: The quality council processed the data of the survey. Together with the quality coordinator, they identified some weak and strong point of the school. They set priorities and wrote an action plan.

Reward this cooperation by presenting their results on a staff meeting. Give a short introduction at this meeting, express your appreciation and let the quality coordinator present the action plan.

Include some members of the quality council in this presentation.

Attend a meeting of the quality council and ask them to make a self evaluation of the produced work and the process they went through.

Express your satisfaction about process and result, point towards other challenges such as the implementation of the action plan.

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4 PERFORMINGDEVELOPMENTS IN THE TEAM Collaboration and inter-

dependency creates (first) results

The council feels its strength, confidence raises

The council is confident and open towards further steps in the innovation process


Orient the focus on task achievements

Deal immediately with (new) personal issues

Manage time of the performances

Reinforce and deepen acquired knowledge and skills

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EXAMPLE AND TIPS FOR MANAGEMENT: The quality coordinator and the quality council have acquired a lot of new skills concerning both the content and the approach of quality development. They produced an action plan and feel confident to implement it. Each member gained responsibility for some actions and will take contact with staff / colleagues for the practical actions.

Ask the team to set timing on their communication with the staff about the action plan.

Check if this timing is realistic. Observe that each member keeps focused on the achievement of the actions.

If discussions arise about the distribution of the actions, intervene and refer to the made agreements.

Organize consultation between the team members on their approach and results. Make them learn from each other.

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5 TRANSFORMING - ADJOURNINGDEVELOPMENTS IN THE

TEAM Concern (sadness)

about future, possible dissolution of team

Decrease in morale and productivity


Recognise and reward members’ efforts

If project ends: organise an informal end of the project

If project is restarted (cyclic process): evaluate, restart on higher level of competences

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EXAMPLE AND TIPS FOR MANAGEMENT: By the end of the school year, all actions envisaged in the action plan have been carried out, mostly with good results. New priorities should be decided and a new plan needs to be written. Some team members are leaving school and there is no certainty yet on the composition of the quality council.

Organize an informal moment where the team can express their sadness for the change in composition. Be present as school manager and offer a little reward.

Allow the team to present their results at the last staff meeting, praise their commitment and results.

Explain that quality development is a cyclic process and will continue next year. Reassure the team about continuity. Be open about the change in composition.

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Take your preparation of pre-task 4 Think of an action to obtain or improve quality that took place

in your organization. You didn’t have to be personally involved in every aspects of

the process, but some involvement is needed. Describe chronologically what happened.

Read the chronological story again.10 min.

Try to identify the different phases ofteam dynamic and group forming.

15 min.

Transfer these elements into the table15 min.

TASK: OWN SITUATION

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TEAM DYNAMICS GROUP FORMING

Documents

new process

new situation

new method

school team

terms of development

team developmenttask

terms of success

team developmentthe