It can be hard to work with other people. Without the proper strategy and planning, collaborating with teams can feel like the dreaded group project at school. Some people feel like they’re doing all the work, others feel out of the loop, and conflict starts to pop up everywhere. To avoid this type of situation, it’s essential to be intentional about building teams and facilitating collaboration.

Putting together a team is a skill. It’s not something leaders are born knowing, and it takes time and effort to understand group dynamics, learn strategies, and develop the right methods for helping your team work together. Resources like BetterHelp can help your team collaborate better.

1. The Importance of Teamwork

Effective teamwork is essential in any workplace. No one can build or run a business alone. There will always be things that you need to work with others on. Developing good team dynamics will help you accomplish your goals more efficiently and effectively. It can also reduce conflict and help keep up workplace morale.

In an effective team, each person will work on the tasks that are best suited to their skills and interests. That way, you can keep people motivated while also maximizing the potential of each employee. In addition, working together can help people come up with better ideas and develop creative solutions to workplace issues.

2. The F.S.N.P.A. Model

In 1965, psychological researcher Bruce Tuckman developed the Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning model to describe the process of building a team. This model describes five stages that a team will go through as they develop from a collective of individuals to a cohesive unit.

Learning about this model can help you understand the process of building a team. You can use this model to identify your team’s stage and understand any issues you may be facing. By getting a better understanding of what factors shape your team dynamics, you’ll implement strategies that will help your team work better together.

3. Forming

This is the first stage of building a team. It is the initial stage where the team members come together. A team might be a group of people who work together on a particular project or a team that works together long-term.

In the initial stage, the team will go through goal-setting. This process is critical because it will help each team member understand what they are working for. Having clear goals will help increase motivation among team members.

In this initial stage, it’s also essential to define each person’s role on the team. Without clear positions, it’s easy to get mixed up about who’s doing what. If this happens, team members may get confused about their tasks and eventually lose motivation.

If you’re in the first stages of forming a team, reflect on your progress. Are you facing any of these issues? Have you gone through the process of goal setting? What can you do to make the purpose and structure of your team clearer?

4. Storming

Conflict is inevitable when you work with other people. Things may get more difficult after the initial excitement of forming a team and setting goals. It’s natural for friction to come up as people learn about their work and communication styles.

If conflicts start to come up after the initial stages of forming your team, don’t panic. Conflicts don’t have to ruin a team dynamic as long as they are handled correctly. As you move through resolving disputes, your team members will learn the necessary skills to work together more harmoniously and effectively.

Pay extra attention in this stage to how team members interact with each other. As a leader, you don’t have to be involved in every interaction, but it is your job to facilitate effective communication and collaboration between your team members. This is also important as it will make working together easier in the long run.

5. Norming

As your team starts to get used to working together, the initial storms will calm down. People will begin to get accustomed to working together and learn about each other’s working processes. As a leader, you can help this process move forward by paying attention to your teammates’ work styles and encouraging conversations about how you work together.

6. Performing

This is the final stage of the team-building process, where people start to work together. Once initial conflicts have been resolved, and people get comfortable working together, things will begin to get done quicker and more efficiently. This is when you truly see the power of collaboration at work.

7. Adjourning

This stage was added after the initial model was made. It essentially describes the process of finishing up a project. Once your team’s work is done, each person goes their separate ways. This stage can include the satisfaction of reaching your team’s goal. To help each person grow and facilitate future collaboration, it can be helpful to reflect in this final stage.

8. Stay Adaptable

The process of forming a team won’t always look the same. It’s important to stay adaptable and be ready to deal with unexpected circumstances. If your team’s forming process doesn’t look exactly like this, don’t worry. You can still use this and other models to understand any challenges you may face and help employees collaborate better.