You have just brought your team together. What should you do in this early stage of your team's development?

A) Focus on the task accomplishment over helping members become comfortable with one another
B) Focus on helping members become comfortable with one another regarding task accomplishment
C) Encourage open discussion and consensus decision making
D) Expect obedience to your directions

Answer: B
Explanation: A) Incorrect. Without strong relationships your productivity and turnover will suffer. Also, relationships are just as important as tasks (if not more).
B) Correct. This focus on the relationship sets the stage for later norm-generation and performance.
C) Incorrect. Open discussion and consensus decision making are desirable in future team development stages, but during the forming stage direction, clarity, and structure are needed instead.
D) Incorrect. Obedience takes time and trust, which you have not yet had time to develop.