“In today’s densely interconnected workplaces, working with others — closely, creatively, globally, and productively — drives organizational and personal effectiveness.”

– Lynda Gratton, London Business School

Collaborate

Did you know?

Whether working virtually or face-to-face, today’s employees must possess the skills needed to work well on teams. According to the NACE 2014 Job Outlook, teamwork is the number one quality employers seek in new hires. As educators, we should place more emphasis on teamwork skills and the ability to collaborate with others in diverse group settings. Today’s activity will introduce your students to Bruce Tuckman’s developmental phases most teams pass through – forming, storming, norming, and performing. Understanding more about team dynamics will give students an advantage in today’s highly collaborative workplace environment.

Do this…

• Ask students questions about their team experiences.

What kind of teams have you been on?
What’s the best thing about teamwork?
What’s the thing you dislike about teamwork?

• Explain how understanding team dynamics will help them.
• View video.
• Distribute Student Activity, review and complete. (Now available as an electronic, fillable pdf allowing students to download, complete and return to you via email.)
• Review the answers, 1 P/ 2 N/ 3 S/ 4 F/ 5 N/ 6 N/ 7 P/ 8 S/ 9 F/ 10 P. (Answers could vary depending on interpretation.)
• Discuss how understanding team stages will be useful.

Get Real!

Have students evaluate one of the teams they currently work on or one they participated on within the last year. Ask them to briefly describe the most challenging stage and how he/she would rate the team’s overall performance.