Day 3: Teams
Great teams are built, not found: through stages, clear roles, trust and the courage to disagree well.
Today's goal
By the end of today you can describe the stages of team development, explain why psychological safety matters, name your preferred team roles and write a team charter that works across cultures.
Agenda
- Warm-upFive things in common10 min
- LearnHow teams develop15 min
- ChallengeThe Marshmallow Challenge35 min
- LearnWhat makes teams effective15 min
- BreakBreak15 min
- ActivityTeam roles25 min
- Case studyConflict and inclusion across cultures25 min
- ActivityWrite a team charter20 min
- ReflectWhat kind of teammate am I?10 min
- QuizDay 3 quiz10 min
The session
Five things in common
Trust grows when people find common ground quickly.
- In your team, find five things you all have in common that are not obvious (not 'we all go to this school').
- Find one thing that is unique to each person.
- Choose a team name that reflects something you found.
Solo
List five things you share with someone you find hard to get along with, and one thing you admire about them.
Group
Teams of four to six, mixed by the facilitator so that friends are split up. Five minutes, then each team announces its name.
How teams develop
Bruce Tuckman's model, from the mid-1960s, describes stages that teams go through. MIT Human Resources presents it as a basis for conversation rather than a diagnosis, and notes that teams do not always move in a straight line.
- Forming: excitement and uncertainty, lots of questions, low output. Leaders set out the mission, goals and roles.
- Storming: frustration and disagreement over goals and roles. Leaders refocus on goals, break work into smaller steps and build conflict skills. Disagreement becomes less polite.
- Norming: people feel safer sharing real ideas and welcome constructive criticism. Revisit ground rules.
- Performing: high commitment and competence, flexible roles. Changes such as new members can send a team back to an earlier stage.
- Ending (MIT calls it Termination or Ending; it was not part of Tuckman's original four stages and is often called adjourning): acknowledge the transition, finish deliverables, share lessons learned and celebrate.
- Storming is normal. A team that never disagrees may not be sharing honest views.
Related lessons: Teamwork with different personalities and cultures
The Marshmallow Challenge
Designed by Tom Wujec, this classic challenge reveals how teams plan, test and collaborate under time pressure.
- Each team gets 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 metre of tape, 1 metre of string and 1 marshmallow.
- Goal: build the tallest freestanding structure in 18 minutes. The whole marshmallow must be on top. Height is measured from the table to the top of the marshmallow.
- Rules: you may break spaghetti and cut tape or string; the bag cannot be part of the structure; nothing can hang from a chair or ceiling; if anyone is holding the structure at the end, it does not count.
- The facilitator calls the time at 9 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute and counts down the last 10 seconds.
- Measure and record every structure, from shortest to tallest.
- Debrief (10 minutes): When did you first put the marshmallow on? Who led, and how was that decided? What stage of Tuckman's model did you see?
- Share the lesson from Wujec's work: kindergarteners often build taller structures than business students, because they start with the marshmallow and test as they go, while adults tend to plan at length and place the marshmallow at the very end.
Solo
Build alone for 18 minutes. Then read the lesson in the last step, rest for five minutes and build again with a fresh kit (or reuse unbroken pieces), putting the marshmallow on early and testing often. Compare the heights and write what changed.
Group
Teams of four to six at separate tables. Spaghetti is brittle, so remind everyone to keep sharp ends away from faces. Eat nothing that has been handled during the build, and check for food allergies before handing out kits. Rotate the timekeeper and observer roles.
Related lessons: Testing an idea cheaply: customer conversations and simple experiments
What makes teams effective
Google's Project Aristotle studied what made its teams effective. The researchers found that how team members work together mattered more than who was on the team.
- Psychological safety: people feel safe to take interpersonal risks such as admitting mistakes, asking questions or proposing ideas, without fear of embarrassment. Google lists this first in importance.
- Dependability: members reliably do quality work on time.
- Structure and clarity: people understand expectations, the process and the consequences.
- Meaning: the work has purpose for each person.
- Impact: people believe their work makes a difference.
- Leaders build psychological safety by asking for views, thanking people for raising problems and admitting their own mistakes first.
Related lessons: Teamwork with different personalities and cultures, Time management, reliability and managing your manager
Break
Tidy up the spaghetti, wash your hands and take a proper rest.
- Clear the tables.
- Have water and a snack.
Team roles
Meredith Belbin described nine team roles, each a tendency to behave, contribute and relate to others in a particular way. They are preferences, not boxes.
- Action roles: Shaper (drives the team forward), Implementer (turns ideas into practical plans), Completer Finisher (checks details and finishes well).
- People roles: Co-ordinator (clarifies goals and involves everyone), Teamworker (supports and keeps harmony), Resource Investigator (finds contacts and opportunities).
- Thinking roles: Plant (creative ideas), Monitor Evaluator (weighs options carefully), Specialist (deep knowledge).
- Pick your top two preferred roles and one you rarely play. Give an example from the Marshmallow Challenge.
- As a team, map everyone's roles. Which are missing or over-represented? Who will cover the gaps?
- Remember the criticism: roles can oversimplify people. Use them to talk about strengths, never to label someone.
Solo
Choose your two preferred roles and think of a recent group project. Which roles were missing, and what happened as a result? Write one way you could stretch into a role you rarely play.
Group
Each person writes their top two roles on a sticky note. Teams stick them on a nine-box grid and discuss gaps. Teammates may suggest a role they saw someone play, kindly and with an example.
Related lessons: Teamwork with different personalities and cultures
Conflict and inclusion across cultures
In the Gulf, many teams include people from ten or more nationalities. Differences in language, directness and timekeeping can cause conflict, or become a strength.
- Scenario: a Year 11 team in Dubai is preparing a robotics competition entry. Members are Emirati, Indian, Filipino, British, Egyptian and Korean. It is the second week of Ramadan.
- Problem 1: Hyun-woo says very little in meetings, but his written ideas are excellent. Two members assume he is not interested.
- Problem 2: Omar and Priya argue loudly about the design. Omar is direct; Priya feels attacked and starts missing meetings.
- Problem 3: meetings are set for 3pm, when fasting members are tired, and some members want an evening meeting that clashes with Iftar.
- Question 1: which Tuckman stage is this team in? What evidence tells you?
- Question 2: for each problem, what would a leader without a title do? Write a specific action and the words they might use.
- Question 3: write three team norms that would prevent these problems next time.
Solo
Answer the questions in writing, then think of a real mixed team you have been in. Which of these problems did you see?
Group
Teams discuss for 15 minutes, then one team role-plays Problem 2 (Omar, Priya and a peer leader) for two minutes, with observers giving SBI feedback. Players can opt out and narrate instead.
Related lessons: Handling conflict, repairing friendships and apologising well, Kindness, respect and tolerance, Empathy and understanding others, Teamwork with different personalities and cultures
Write a team charter
A team charter turns good intentions into clear agreements, building structure, clarity and psychological safety.
- Purpose: one sentence on why this team exists.
- Roles: who does what (use your Belbin map).
- Norms: five agreements, for example: 'We let people finish speaking', 'We say if we cannot meet a deadline 24 hours before', 'We schedule around prayer and family time'.
- Disagreement: how will you disagree well, and who decides if you cannot agree?
- Check-ins: how and how often you will review progress.
- Everyone signs or initials it.
Solo
Write a charter for a team you are really part of (a club, a study group, your family on a busy week). Share it with one member and ask what they would change.
Group
Each team writes its charter on A3 paper and pins it up. Teams do a gallery walk, adding one sticky-note idea to another team's charter.
Related lessons: Starting with friends: partners, roles and agreements in writing, Time management, reliability and managing your manager
What kind of teammate am I?
Look back at today honestly.
- When did you feel safe to speak today, and when did you not?
- What did you do today that helped someone else feel safe?
- Add a manifesto line: 'In a team, I will ...'.
Solo
Write your answers in your journal.
Group
Silent writing, then each person thanks one teammate for something specific, using SBI praise.
Day 3 quiz
Five questions on teams.
- Answer on your own.
- Read every explanation.
Block timer
Your journal
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Day 3 quiz
Score 80% or more to complete Day 3.
1. In Tuckman's model as described by MIT HR, what usually happens in the storming stage?
2. According to MIT HR, what can send a performing team back to an earlier stage?
3. In the Marshmallow Challenge, why do kindergarteners often beat business students?
4. Which dynamic did Google's Project Aristotle list first in importance for effective teams?
5. How should Belbin's team roles be used, according to the Cambridge IfM summary?
Overnight challenge
Watch a team in action (a family meal being prepared, a sports match, a group at a mall). Which Tuckman stage and which Belbin roles do you see? Write three observations.