Don’t Be A Tourist On You Own Team!

Bonding with your Orientation staff and avoiding cliques

What are we going to talk about
today?
How are teams formed? Theory to practice

How cliques and barriers can affect the staff and student

What you can do to take initiative

Let’s hear from you!

How are teams formed?
 Forming the O-Team
• Learning about job duties/responsibilities
& member of your team
• Leaders begin to present themselves
• Everyone is still polite to each other
• No conflicts yet (hopefully)
 Storming in the O-Team
• Beginning to see where you fit
in the team
• Clash of personalities
• Group Dissonance and
conflicts can occur
• Some groups may skip this
phase
 Norming in the O-Team
• Storming issues begin to resolve
• Group begins to break down competition to see
common goal
• Tolerate/accept team member for greater good
• Members take on more initiative and
responsibility
• Members may want to prevent conflict so they
resist speaking up or presenting new ideas
• Ok to go back to storming
Performing then adjourning the O-Team
• Group norms and roles are established
• Members are focused on achieving common
goals
• Group members are competent and
autonomous
• Reverting to previous stages is common and
ok!
• Completion of Orientation 
• These stages are sometimes on a continuum
not linear
Group dissonance can cause
cliques to form
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgXvpqyq
Eew
• That’s so high school
• Small groups in the O-team can sometimes be
ok!
• Need to know when dangerous cliques are
forming and how they can affect your staff
 How Cliques Affect
the O-team
• Turmoil among team members
• Exclusivity
• Alienation of others
• They make it difficult to get
things done
• Distracted from Orientation and
students
How Cliques Affect the Students

Projection of Their It may be your

your feelings experience at 10th orientation
Orientation but it is their
first and only!
How Can We Prevent This?
• Overall Staff- Group Me (Fun and
Professional), Debrief Sessions

• Personal Recognition- You Rock,

Motivational Monkey, MVP Belt
How Can YOU Prevent This?
• Individually- Eat with a different person
each session, every morning asking how
they are

• Accountability within your own staff

Leaders Set the Tone
• Pro Staff- Everyone on our staff
is assigned with a different
person for every session

• Try and have a fun theme

throughout the spring semester
Let’s hear from you all!
Have you ever felt like a tourist on your team?

How do you keep your team accountable?

Have you experience this on your team?

What have you done to fix it?
PollEV. Com/caitlinhibba804
Wcrandall@email.wcu.edu

crhibbard1@catamount.wcu.edu

cjcarreno1@catamount.wcu.edu