Griffin, Phillips, and Gully state that “all teams are groups, but not all groups are teams” (p

Griffin, Phillips, and Gully state that “all teams are groups, but not all groups are teams” (p.240). Individuals within a group intermingle to influence each other whereas an individual’s in a team work together towards a common purpose. Groups and teams both have their pros and cons to the individual, but collaboration on ideas within a team can be beneficial to bettering or growing an organization. The stages of group development are constantly used in any group. There are always news tasks or new members being added and removed from a job or organization.

In my current role, I have been on both sides of the stages of group development. When I first started, I was working with a team who had all worked together and developed a rapport for years. I had to work through the Mutual Acceptance and Communication and Decision-Making stages a newcomer. This was difficult for me since I was navigating a new role in a new industry and had to figure out quickly how effectively communicate with the team in order to support everyone. Once I was able to confidently manage those stages, I was able to conquer the Motivation and Productivity stage as well as the Control and Organization stage. Currently, our organization is working through a reorganization and merging teams together. I am now working through the stages again, starting at New Group Formation, as I navigate a new, larger team dynamic.