Stages of Group Development

Effective collaboration doesn't just happen overnight, it takes time for a group to “gel” and learn how to work at its full potential. Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development allows groups to assess where their team is and understand what might assist them in reaching their full potential. As you are working on a team, considering the following prompts to support your groups growth:

  1. Reflect on the team that you are currently working with. What stage of group development do you see your group fitting into?
  2. What can your team do to continue to develop in positive and productive ways?
  3. How can each individual team member contribute to the growth of your team?

Stages of Group Development overview


Conflict Management Styles

When working with other people, conflict is not only inevitable, but also an important part of the process of working together to create the best solution. Generally, conflict can be categorized in one of three ways:

  • Role Conflict - When tension arises based on a lack of clarity over what role/responsibilities each individual is filling.
  • Idea Conflict - A conflict over ideas, such as how to best solve a problem. 
  • Personality Conflict - Clashes between two individuals based on incompatibility between their personalities.

When conflicts arises, different people will respond in different ways. Take this quiz to examine how you tend to respond to conflict. By understanding how you and those around you respond, you will be able to most effectively work as a team. 

Explore conflict management stylesDiscussion & reflection questions


Team Audit

Once you have been working with a team for a period of time, it can be valuable to pause and assess your team in terms of how it operates and your success in accomplishing goals. Use the questionnaire below, you can assess your team’s performance within 8 different dimensions: purpose, team roles, process, individual attitudes, group dynamics, results, commitment, and problem solving.

Collaborative team audit


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In this collaboration-themed episode the topic, and the state of research collaborations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.

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