What is the supervisor's role in the norming phase of the four-stage group development model?

• A. The supervisor works to maintain team spirit as the group accomplishes its objectives
• B. The supervisor actively listens to members and provides explanations for decisions
• C. The group is a true team with all members sharing leadership
• D. The company officer must be aware of team norms and values to make sure they don't violate the sense of decency

Answer: (D)

In the norming phase, the group has started to act cohesively and agrees on how it will work together, including shared norms and values. The supervisor’s role is to observe these emerging norms and ensure they align with the organization’s standards and decency. By being aware of what the team has established as acceptable behavior, the supervisor can reinforce positive conduct, address any drift from agreed norms, and keep safety and ethical expectations front and center. This focus on guiding and monitoring the developing norms is what makes this role the best fit for norming.

The other ideas describe important leadership actions, but they don’t target the norming phase specifically: maintaining team spirit speaks more to morale during later stages; actively listening and explaining decisions is valuable communication throughout all stages; and shared leadership indicates a highly autonomous team, which is less characteristic of the supervisor’s control in norming.