STAGES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT-- A framework for understanding teams as systems

Stages Of Team Development-- A framework for understanding teams as systems

Presenter: Beth Shapiro

What explains the fact that some teams seem to be so collaborative and at ease, while others seem to be at war? Why do some teams seem full of people who think that they are the only one who can do something right, while others teams are full of trust in each other? What about teams that accept what they are told to do even if it makes no sense to them, compared to those that question and push back until the best course of action is found?

In this BFR workshop, we’ll explore what drives these and other differences in team culture and behavior. Using Adult Development Theory and the framework presented in Dave Logan’s Tribal Leadership, we’ll look at how to assess a team’s stage of development by listening to their language and sense-making. We’ll also map these two models to each other to see how individual development shows up in teams.

Takeaways

• Understand the team as a system, greater than the sum of the parts of its members, and the influence that system has on individuals within it
• Assess stage of development in client teams
• Exploration of ways to help client teams advance to higher-performance stages
• Be able to describe why team stage is important, and how stage advancement improves performance and makes ongoing results more sustainable
• Use specific coaching exercises to help teams experience their own and each other’s stage of development

Presenter bio

Beth Shapiro is the founder of Sustainable Success and TeamSpirit, Inc. Beth coaches and consults on teaming, workforce engagement, leadership development, and human sustainability. She also designs and delivers powerful, custom experiential trainings aimed at increasing mission effectiveness. Beth is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School and has served on the faculty of CRRGlobal and the Coaches Training Institute. Recent clients include the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, University of California at San Francisco, Greenpeace, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.