A team is a collection of like-thinking people who work together to achieve common objectives. Teams consist of individuals, each with their own set of skills, abilities and experience. A team requires all of its members to be fully committed to the task at hand and to create synergy, which is when a team works in harmony, stimulating a greater performance to achieve the best possible outcome. "To be really effective, team members need effective leadership that encourages and supports them to feel like a team, to think like a team and to act like a team." (Miller, 2005) .
As described by Kohn et al (2000, p. 198) "People make fewer errors when they work in teams. When processes are planned and standardized, each member knows his or her responsibilities as well as those of teammates, and members "look out" for one another, noticing errors before they cause an accident." This is especially important in a care setting as errors affect the health and safety of real people, and these people, the service users, are also an integral part of any healthcare team. Teamwork and collaboration between all members of a team will result in a better level of care for the service user and also assist in creating a better working atmosphere and a better atmosphere in the care setting. .
In 1965 Dr Bruce Wayne Tuckman published his "stages of group development" incorporating his "forming, storming, norming, performing" model. He later added "adjourning" as a fifth stage in 1977. The "forming" stage is when the team is formed, when the members meet for the first time, agree on common goals, and bond and establish trust. Conflict is avoided at this stage, and the goal of each individual is to get to know the others and possibly form friendships and determine how well each member performs at particular tasks.
The "storming" stage is next.