Some teams become mired in conflict and get stuck at stage 2. Others feel overwhelmed by the process and revert to stage 1 to avoid further conflict. Neither of these outcomes positively affects the team or quality of patient care. Only through conflict resolution can the group achieve true interdisciplinary collaboration. If the team works through stage 2, members' trust, commitment to the team, and willingness to cooperate increase.
Communication becomes more open and more task oriented.
Professional territoriality decreases as members focus more on patient care and less on professional status, power, and influence. In stage 3 of group development, trust and structure, members perform more mature negotiations about roles, organization, and procedures. Members also work to solidify positive relationships with each other. As its name implies, the fourth, or work, stage of group development is a time of intense team productivity and effectiveness. Having resolved many of the issues of the previous stages, the group can focus more of its energy on goal achievement.