HOSA officer teams will experience highs and lows. Knowing more about team dynamics will allow your team to anticipate issues and work through them before they cause irreparable damage.

 

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." –Andrew Carnegie

 

FORMING

In this stage, most team officers are positive and polite. Some are anxious, as they haven't fully understood what work the team will do. Others are simply excited about the task ahead. As leaders, you play a dominant role in this stage because team members' roles and responsibilities aren't clear.  This stage can last for some time, as officers start to work together, and as they make an effort to get to know their new officer team.

 

STORMING

Next, the team moves into the storming phase, where officers start to push against the boundaries established in the forming stage. This is the stage where many teams fail. Storming often starts where there is a conflict between team members' natural working styles. People may work in different ways for all sorts of reasons, but if differing working styles cause unforeseen problems, they may become frustrated. Storming can also happen in other situations. For example, team members may challenge authority, or jockey for position as their roles are clarified. Or, if you haven't defined clearly how the team will work, officers may feel overwhelmed by their workload, or they could be uncomfortable with the approach the team is using. Some may question the worth of the team's goal, and they may resist taking on tasks. Team members who stick with the task at hand may experience stress, particularly as they don't have the support of established processes, or strong relationships with their fellow officers.  

 

NORMING

Gradually, the officer team moves into the norming stage. This is when people start to resolve their differences, appreciate colleagues' strengths, and respect authority of the team’s leader. Now that your team members know one-another better, they may socialize together, and they are able to ask each other for help and provide constructive feedback. Officers develop a stronger commitment to the team goal, and you start to see good progress toward it. There is often a prolonged overlap between storming and norming, because, as new tasks come up, the team may lapse back into behavior from the storming stage.  

 

PERFORMING

The team reaches the performing stage when hard work leads, without friction, to the achievement of the officer team's goal. The structures and processes that have been set up support this well. It feels easy to be part of the team at this stage, and members who join the team's effort won't disrupt performance.