Video 6: How to Build a High-Performance Team - The Forming Stage

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6. Building Your High-Performance Team - The Forming Stage
When your team is starting out it will be in the forming stage. This video explains that stage. What it looks like and how you can set your team up for success.
In this video you’ll learn how to start building your own high-performance team.
In a previous video we introduced the Stages of Team Development model. You may remember me talking about the forming, storming, norming, and performing stages of that model.
This time we’re going to cover the “Forming” stage of that model.
What being in that stage looks and feels like. Why it looks and feels like that. And also what you can do as the team leader to best prepare the team for when they move into the second stage of the team development model - the storming stage.
If you’ve just taken over a new team, or a completely new team has been created, then it’s likely that you’ll be at the forming stage.
In this stage you’ll probably notice the following things:
- The team members are trying hard to be nice and polite with each other.
- There’s lots of busyness, but not much progress.
- Team members may have lots of questions about what to do, how to do it, even what the team is for. What it’s purpose is.
- You may notice superficial level conversations but not many deeper level personal discussions. People are being quite guarded with what they share.
- People are also probably trying to look good. To look competent.
Now, why might you see those things?
Well…
People don’t know each other very well.
They don’t really know what they are aiming for, or what they need to do.
They don’t know how they fit into the group.
They really don’t want to be rejected by the group.
They’re trying to get a sense of you as the leader. What’s acceptable to you and what’s not. What’s important to you and what’s not.
So, what does success look like in stage one. What needs to have been achieved with the team for them to move into stage two in the best possible way.
Firstly, the team members need you to give them a sense of direction and purpose, and a sense of who’s doing what. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to be your first best idea of it. This will give your team some clarity and reduce uncertainty. Like I said, don’t worry if it’s not perfect. You will get clarity on this as time goes on and the team develops.
Secondly, the team members need to build trust with each other, by getting to know each other better. They’ll need as much trust with each other as possible as they to move into stage two.
And thirdly, the team members need to know that there are some guidelines, some rules, or agreements, that let everyone know how to be with each other. What’s acceptable, and what’s not. How you’ll solve problems and how you’ll handle disagreements. If these things are not in place and understood as you move into stage two, things will get difficult.
For you as the team leader, this means that you’ll be most effective moving through stage one and into stage two, by being quite directive. Not overly authoritarian. But just firm enough so that your team members know that you know where you are going. That you have confidence in yourself. They are looking at you for some direction in this stage. They don’t want you to ask them what direction they should go in. At least not at this stage anyway.
You’ll also benefit from sharing quite a lot of personal information about yourself. Not with every detail of your life. But certainly sharing some personal stories about experiences you’ve had that have made you the person that you are. Being open in this way can build trust very very quickly.
Don’t just hope that people will get to know you and get to know each other all by themselves. By leaving it to chance, it will take a very long time. You need to nudge this process along. By being open yourself. And by doing the activities with your team that you’ll find next to this video.
You’d be amazed. I’ve met managers who’ve sat next to each other, in the same office, for years. And they’ve not known even the most basic level of personal information about each other. They may work OK with each other, but the level of trust will not be high, and they’re certainly never going to be a high-performance team.
OK, so now the most important thing…
If your team is in stage one right now, they’ll move into stage two, whether you want them to or not.
Your only question is “How to best prepare them for stage two?”

[@shewayegurmessa8780]

Amazing🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@antonymunn8386]

Great introduction to the stages of forming a team with good pointers to guide you. Thanks for making it

[@nandinidash3195]

Teamwork - ever thought there are different types of teamwork with indifferent intentions?
ua-cam.com/video/3EY0Qpr-k8U/v-deo.html