{"id":214812,"date":"2021-06-08T11:48:16","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T10:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/letstalktalent.co.uk\/?p=214812"},"modified":"2023-06-08T11:32:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T10:32:40","slug":"navigating-the-first-stage-of-team-development-forming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/letstalktalent.co.uk\/blog\/navigating-the-first-stage-of-team-development-forming\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating the first stage of team development: Forming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Practical tips to turn a bunch of strangers into a tight collaborative team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the moment it is created, every single team has the same goal: to get to a stage where it is working well together, highly performing and contributing to the organisation\u2019s objectives in a meaningful way. But is forming a team as simple as putting the most talented individuals you can get your hands on together and sitting back, waiting for amazing results? Well not quite, as you\u2019ve probably guessed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Teams sometimes just don\u2019t quite gel, and never get to a stage where they perform well together. Team leaders can facilitate the bonding process and there are many tools available to help turn teams from underperforming collections of individuals to amazingly collaborative units. But how do you know which tactics to deploy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According\u2019 to the trusted Tuckman model of team development, there are four stages involved in generating high performance teams: forming, storming<\/a>, norming<\/a> and performing<\/a>. And knowing where you are in this process can really help you pin down the strategies to deploy to reach the next stage.  Jo Taylor, MD at Let\u2019s Talk Talent, says: \u201cIt\u2019s about understanding where you\u2019re at so you can take charge, get unstuck and get back to moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And getting teams to the final performing stage is something we have experience of. We\u2019ve helped countless organisations pinpoint the right measures to take to reach a stage where collaborative units formed quickly contributed to business goals. We thought we\u2019d put our experience to good use by creating a series of blogs, each exploring one of the stages involved in team development and, more importantly, the tools available to you to ensure you move smoothly along and reach the next phase fast. So let\u2019s start at the very beginning and go through the first of our four stages: forming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first stage of team development: forming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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We obviously all assume that forming is day zero of a new team\u2019s creation. And whilst this may be the case, you could find yourself going back to the forming stage at any point in your team\u2019s journey, for example after an individual has left, a new leader has arrived, or the purpose of your team has changed. As such, a bit of recalibration may be needed to get everyone back on the same page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jo, throughout her career as an Human Resources Director (HRD), has had to build sizeable teams from scratch a few times. On how best to start, she says: \u201cI think everyone has potential, but the key is quickly finding out what that potential is for. In a team, you need every single cog to work well, so understanding who you have on your bench and what their strengths are really is step one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Signs your team is going through the forming stage:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n