Stages of Team Development

The team-building process has defined stages that a team goes through from inception (compiling-creating) to mature and effective working relationships. This is especially true in project management environments where you direct a number of project teams functioning on the same project. Each project team has its own purpose, schedule, and budget of resources. Multiproject examples would be the large design and construction programs, such as the renovation of O’Hare International Airport, which had in excess of 100 project teams; the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage Commission design and renovation of its treatment and collection facilities; and the design and construction of nuclear power plants. Art Freedman, Ph.D., has noted the importance of transition management during construction and after completion of a major operating facility. The coordination and the interrelationships between project teams during design and construction is of major importance to assure the successful completion of the project on schedule and within budget. When different project teams handle various levels of a project, whether it’s in the construction industry or the corporate environment, transition and project management is necessary.

At any given time, each individual project team will be at its own stage of development. The overall project team will also have its own stage of development. One of the easiest models to understand and utilize for stages of team development was developed by Francis and Young and is called Stages of Team Development (5).