During the action phase, the team proceeds to the accomplishment of its tasks. What becomes important at this stage is feedback, tracking resources and coordination.
Starting with the latter, the more interdependent the tasks, the more teams rely on coordination (Tesluk, Mathieu, Zaccaro & Marks 1997). For example, teams experiencing 'communication breakdowns' are likely to be experiencing problems with their coordination process. In addition, a team needs to track both internal (e.g. personnel, equipment, etc.) and external environments to ensure appropriate response to changes. Marks et al. (2001) name this process systems monitoring. Systems monitoring can happen through the aid of technology - e.g. during open heart surgery the heart-monitoring machine is constantly watched. Likewise, pilots rely extensively on technology to detect flight problems. Failure to monitor changes in the internal and external environment can lead to serious problems - for example, failure to attend to a weather storm might leave a construction team exposed to dangerous elements.
Feedback can be given on a number of different issues. Marks et al. (2001) identify two:
1. Process monitoring progress toward goals: Feedback to the team on its goal accomplishment status so that members can determine their progress and their likelihood of success within a given period of time.
2. Process team monitoring and backup: Feedback and/or assistance to team members who are facing difficulties with their tasks. Team monitoring can also include assuming and completing a whole task for a teammate. In general if teammates are not looking out for one another the team will fail when only one member fails.