What are the three stages of team building?

• A. Initiation, Growth, and Maturation
• B. Formation, Enrichment, and Sustainment
• C. Planning, Execution, Review
• D. Recruiting, Training, Deploying

Answer: (B)

Teams progress through stages that take a group from coming together to operating effectively over time. In this framework, the three stages are Formation, Enrichment, and Sustainment. Formation is about bringing the team together—defining purpose, roles, norms, and initial trust so everyone knows why the group exists and how it will work. Enrichment focuses on building the team’s capability and cohesion—developing skills, improving collaboration and communication, refining processes, and deepening trust so the team can function at a higher level. Sustainment is about maintaining and evolving performance over time—adapting to changes, addressing turnover, continuously improving, and keeping morale and effectiveness steady in the long run. The other options describe different sequences (such as project phases) or HR-focused steps, rather than the ongoing team-development progression represented here.