4.1 Forming
Forming describes the point when a disparate group of individuals with their own ways of working come together to achieve a shared goal.
This stage is characterised by:
- excitement and eagerness about the project ahead
- anxiety as to whether you will be good enough or fit in the team
- lack of progress, with members asking lots of questions
- frustration that things are moving slowly and you are never going to get on with the task
- politeness as group members get to know each other.
Activity 3 How to encourage Forming
Timing: Allow about 5 minutes
Consider what you could do at this stage of team formation to help a group move forward. Think about what you need to accomplish in this stage before you are able to move onto the next stage. Note down your answers.
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Comment
Activities which may be useful at this stage are focused on creating a team with a clear structure and goal direction, and getting to know each other in order to build trust. Some of the activities you may consider include:
- ice-breaking activities to get to know each other and build trust – a facilitator may be brought in to help with this
- setting the ground rules; it may be helpful to record these and display them at every meeting so that you can add to them/amend them as you go along or remind yourself of them if issues emerge
- for a virtual team, Hofmann (2024) suggests using video meetings and messaging platforms to define goals and roles, and planning virtual icebreakers or casual meetings to help team members feel more comfortable with each other.