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storming and norming. It is a real joy to work with a team that has made it to the

performing stage.

Adjourning As the name implies, adjourning refers to breaking up the team after the
work is completed and returning the team members to their functional managers and
teams.

Different teams progress through the stages of development at different

rates. When new team members are brought onto the team, the development
stages start all over again. It doesn’t matter where the team is in the first four
phases of the development process—a new member will start the cycle all over
again.

Progressing through these stages can be enhanced with the use of team-building
activities. Team building is a set of activities or exercises designed to get a diverse
group of people to work together in an efficient and effective manner. It helps them to
form social bonds and identify common interests, and it can help clarify the roles and

responsibilities of each team member. Organized team-building activities are most
effective when a team is in the forming and storming stages, especially if they don’t
know each other well. Search the Web or ask your human resource department for
team-building activities that will help your new staff get to know each other better. In
my experience, once the team moves into the norming stage and beyond, there may not
be as much of a need for organized team activities; however, informal activities are a
great benefit in this stage, especially if the team arranges them, such as lunches, pizza

nights, sports outings, beers after work, and so on.

You may also find team-building activities helpful if your team is experiencing
personality clashes or if there are changes to the team makeup where old members
have rolled off and new members have rolled on. Organizational changes are another
good reason to employ team-building activities.

Trust Building

Building trust with and among your team members is, in my experience, the most
important thing a project manager can do to ensure a top-performing team. Trust, as
the old saying goes, is earned, not given.

To build and maintain the trust of your project team members, you need
to demonstrate competence, respect, honesty, integrity, and openness. You must

also demonstrate that you are willing to act on performance problems.

Trust building occurs over time, not overnight. In my experience, trust building

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