The team development magic formula

Building a team looks a lot like alchemy. You have to work your formula until you reach gold in it's different forms: high efficiency, great communication, low or zero conflict rate, awesome results and stability within the team. Fine tuning this "potion" can take a lot of time and resources. But what if there was a secret formula?

For those used to team development, Tuckman's model is no news. But knowing it does not make it simple. 

Each stage has it's own particularities and it's learning opportunities. Though it seems, at a first glance, that this model only applies to all-new teams, these stages are in fact triggered by change even in older or more experienced teams. Depending on how big the change is, a team can go back a few stages or reset entirely. Adding new members in a short period, changing projects, attributions, team structure or even location could generate reactions within the team. And reactions mean instability if not well managed.

The same small changes that a performing team might see as challenges or even opportunities could become big obstacles in a storming group, where reaching consensus is hard and trust is still a rare resource.

So what do you do to keep the storms productive and to shelter productivity during the different stages?

The secret ingredients

A little magic would be just the right thing to have when things get hard. In more than one occasion I would've loved to sprinkle some fairy dust or wave a wand and have things solved. But when you do not have any of the two, you can still make sure you have the secret ingredients: the right people, the right direction and the right mindset.

1) The right people

Ultimately, they are your true gold. The right people will build along your side, will follow the same objectives and will search growth beyond what is given to them. But these people do not just happen to be in a team. It is a manager's responsibility to search for them, to get them on-board, to motivate and grow them, and ultimately to turn them into pillars.

Good selection ensures that each team "formula" has all the right things. For more detailed information on the essential team roles I recommend Meredith Belbin's structure. Belbin test is actually interesting to take as a manager as well, to see what is your role in the bigger team, and to understand how each other role relates to yours.

Out of all the roles I will underline one that Belbin calls Teamworker and we sometimes call the Connectors. They are the people that glue the team together, ensuring a better communication, and decreasing the tension level within the group. They create space for a manager to develop the team, instead of trying to hold everything connected. They are also involved, quite easy to motivate and sometimes the salt and pepper of full day at work.

If you want to keep it all in a simpler framework, Forbes has a nice article on this subject where it splits the roles in Minders, Finders and Grinders. Although a good read, I think it oversimplifies the impact and diversity.

2) The right direction

Probably in 1% of the cases the team reaches the Performing or Adjourning stage by itself. In the other 99% of the cases the progress will require guidance. The process can get rough and without someone to watch over and adjust direction or speed along the way, Storming might just reset the team progress.

Another essential reason why a manager must be present and pay close attention during the team growth is because his/ her role is to nurture trust. Just as you would with a child, caring for your team implies you need to teach it to trust itself as a total, and to be able to rely on each other, as individuals. Even more, you need to gain your team's trust. Managing through "because I said so" is long gone and it's well known that Millennials do not take formal authority lightly, and they are way more inclined to follow a leader, rather than a manager.

A 2010 Harvard Business Review study shows that employees trust strangers just as much or even more than their bosses. I find this conclusion...scary! I also see in these results space to host talented leaders.

3) The right mindset

Teams are not abstract concepts. Each team member needs to know the impact he/she has, should be confident in his/ her role, and also take responsibility for their actions.  

The sooner people within the team realize they not only need, but are also responsible for each other, the faster they will develop. The team needs to discover it's own dynamic, that in time should involve the manager less and less. This will allow for the members to take full ownership of their roles, will develop the teams ability to find or generate resources and solutions, and will increase autonomy which if well administrated means an increase in stability.

But people need to know where they are, where they are heading and why they are in this formula at all time. If they all know their role, they will start to ask more from themselves and see their own impact in the success or failure as a total. And their learning is your learning.

Instead of conclusions

In theory solutions happen much easier than in practice. As a manager/ leader, your main variables are not related to the process, but to the people. What motivates your team members? What sets them off? What are their expectations from you, from the project and from the company? What are their biggest qualities? What are their improvement points? How much can they help each other improve? What is their part in the project? There are a lot of questions and yes, you need to be able to answer all of them along the way.

If you staid with me so far, then here is what I think to be the magic formula: good team development is even better leader/ manager development. Be your best and you will inspire your team to do the same!