8/5/2015 Theimportanceofteams|ACCAQualification|Students|ACCAGlobal

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THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAMS

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byJohnBall
03Nov2004

Weareoftentoldthatteamsarethewayforward,especiallyinbusiness.Butofcoursetheproblemis
thatiftheteamisnotworking,perhapsbecausethememberscannotgeton,ortheskillsareoutof
balanceorindeedtheteamhasnotcometogether,thenserious,oftennegative,problemscanarise.And
that'sbadforbusiness.Teamsareeverywhere.Theyhavetodevelop,matureandofteneventually
terminate.

AccordingtothewriterTuckman,itispossibletoidentifyfivedistinctstagesofdevelopmentthrough
whichteamsshouldpass.Thefirststageisthesocalledformingstage,whenthemembersmeetand
decideonthepurposeoftheteamandhowitwilloperate.

Atthisstagetheteamisnomorethanacollectionofindividuals,findingoutaboutoneanotherand
discussingthetaskwhichmaybeunclear.Althoughwastefulandtimeconsuming,thisstageisessential
toensurethattheteammembersbecomecomfortablewitheachother.

Thesecondstageisreferredtoasstorming.Thephraseisadeliberatereferencetoconflict,ideas,ideals
andbehaviourthatarechallengedandsometimesrejected.Thereiscompetitionandargumentabout
whoshouldfilltherolesintheteam.Althoughcharacterisedbyconflict,thisisconstructivewithtrust
developingandiftheindividualsaresuccessfulwiththisstagethenastrongerteamwillresult.

Thethirdstageisnorming,whentheroutinesunderwhichtheteamwilloperatebecomeestablished.The
teamisnowsettlingdown,investigatingideas,testingthereactionsoftheteam'smembersand
consequentlynormsareestablished.Inaddition,patternsofbehaviourareestablished,trustwilldevelop
andthemethodsbywhichdecisionswillbetakenwillbedecidedon.Bythetimetheperformingstageis
reached,theteamiscompleteandisabletoperformeffectively.

Problemswithteamroles,conflictandissuesofadjustmenthavebeenresolved.Inpractice,manyteams
reachthedormingstage,whichisthefinalstage.Theteambecomescomplacent,losesinterestinthe
taskandselfpreservationbecomesthedominantissue.

Allteams,itissuggested,gothroughthesefivestages.However,ifforsomereasontheteamlosesor
gainsmembers,ortheexternalenvironmentimposesfundamentalchangesonit,theteamveryoften
mayreverttoearlierstagesofdevelopment.

Teamdevelopmentishoweveronlyonedimensioninunderstandingtheimportanceofthewaysinwhich
teamswork.DrMeredithBelbinhasstudiedteammembership(asopposedtoteamdevelopment).He
hassuggestedthatallteamsareamatterofbalanceandthattheteammembersfulfiltworoles.The
primaryroleistheskillorfunctionforwhichtheindividualwasappointedtotheteaminthefirstplace.
Thisisusuallytheindividual'sprofessionalrole.

Thesecondaryroleistheteamrolebasedontheindividual'spreferredbehaviourpattern.Alltheteam
rolesareneededforateamtobesuccessful,theteamrolebeinginadditiontothemembersbringing
theirowndisciplinesandskills.Itisalsopossiblethatmembershavemorethanoneteamroleskill,
althoughonewillusuallydominate.Theteamrolemaychange,dependingonthetaskandthenumberof
teammemberstoavoidtheproblemofteamimbalance.Belbindescribeseightteamroles:
thecoordinatorprovidestheleadership,presidesandcoordinatestheactivitiesheorsheisabalancedand
disciplinedperson,goodatworkingwithothers
thecompanyworkeristheadministratorandorganiserwhoturnstheteam'sideasintojobsandtasksthispersonis
efficient,trustworthyandunexcitable
theshaperishighlystrungandadominant,extrovertpersonalitytaskdriventothepointofpassion,heorsheisa
forceforaction
theplantistheintrovert,invariablyintellectuallybright,andimaginativewhoactsasasourceofideas
theresourceinvestigatoristhepopular,socialmemberoftheteamanextrovert,thispersonisrelaxedandauseful
sourceofnewcontactsbutnotideas

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8/5/2015 Theimportanceofteams|ACCAQualification|Students|ACCAGlobal
themonitorevaluatorisnotcreativebutisanalyticallygiftedoftentactlessandaloof,theroleistoexamineideasand
spoterrorsandflaws
theteamworkeristhesilentmemberconcernedwiththemaintenanceoftheteam,heorsheissupportive,
understandingandpopularwiththeteambutonlynoticedwhenabsent
thecompleterfinisherenjoysthedetails,pushestheteamtomeettargetsandseesurgencyandfollowthroughas
important.

Laterresearchhasidentifiedafurtherteamrolethespecialist.Thispersonjoinstheteamonlywhen
expertorspecificadviceisrequiredonmattersoutsidethecompetenceoftheteam.Thisadditionalrole
hascomeaboutbecauseofthegreateruseofteamsforprojectwork.

JohnBallisformerexaminerforPaper1.3

Lastupdated:20Apr2015

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