Content
A sense of community is established, and the group remains focused on the group’s purpose and goal. At its peak, the group moves into the fourth stage of group development, known as the performing stage. Competence in all members is seen, allowing for a high level of autonomy in decision making. Problem solving, experimentation and testing possible solutions are high as group members are focused on task completion and achievement. The overall objective of the group during the performing stage is to complete their mission and fulfill their purpose though goal achievement. The first stage of group development is known as the forming stage.
- But, you can point out areas of improvement or strengths to the group as a whole, without pointing fingers.
- It’s important to remember that not all teams will linearly go through these stages, and it’s okay for teams to revisit earlier stages as needed.
- Team members may also begin to test each other or their leader and try to stand out from the rest.
- Uncertainty is high during this stage, and people are looking for leadership and authority.
- It’s important to note that while other models focus on a particular aspect of team development, they don’t usually address team development as a whole.
- Forming is the first of five stages in Bruce Tuckman’s group development model.
This is also the stage in which group members test boundaries, create ground rules, and define organizational standards. Discussion centers on defining the scope of the task, how to approach it, and similar concerns. To grow from this stage to the next, each member must relinquish the comfort of non-threatening topics and risk the possibility of conflict. While a number of these changes are to the benefit of the workforce, it can make team development more challenging for managers. Team dynamics and rapport may not develop naturally, as members don’t have a water cooler or coffee machine to interact around.
Leadership strategies to facilitate successful team development
Once you’ve weathered the storm, pun intended, your team can move into norming. Here, team members have figured out how to work together and there’s no more conflict or internal competitions lingering. The first stage is forming, which is when the members within the team first come together to meet. It can be considered the period of orientation when everyone is getting to know one another and becoming acquainted. Now that we know where the stages come from, let’s break down the ins and outs of each stage and what you can expect from your team in each. And although it may be slightly cliche, there’s a lot of truth to it.
Mara Calvello Mara Calvello is a freelance writer for Fellow, in addition to being a Content Marketing Manager at G2. In her spare time, she’s either at the gym, reading a book from her overcrowded bookshelf, enjoying the great outdoors with her rescue dog Zeke, four stages of team development or right in the middle of a Netflix binge. Obsessions include the Chicago Cubs, Harry Potter, and all of the Italian food imaginable. Hybrid Work PanelInsights from leaders at Loom, Upwork, Oyster, Because Mondays, and Fellow on how to embrace Hybrid Work.
Stage 4: Performing
Tuckman asserted that each of these phases was necessary in order for a team to learn, grow, and deliver results of the highest quality. The process of building personal rapport between individuals before anything else happens is a critical step to long-term team success. Without having those personal relationships undergirding their professional ones, teams are prone to tension, conflict and failure.
Next up is the performing stage, which tends to be where there is the most cohesive work environment, people are happy and excited and team performance is at an all-time high. There’s a clear and stable structure in place https://globalcloudteam.com/ throughout the group and everyone is fully committed to achieving the goals put in place. In the performing stage, there’s a sense of focus, purpose, and alignment from everyone on the team, no matter their role.
The Risks of Having Transactional Relationships with Your Peers
Building teams that are cohesive, goal-focused, and possess both specialized and complementary skills to fall under the domain of both professions (Abudi, 2020; SHRM, n.d.). Also, Human Resources supports employees through team conflicts and mediates between management and workers which is an essential part of the Storming stage (Developing and Sustaining, n.d.). In the Norming stage, Human Resources professionals work to offer continual support to employees, facilitate discussions, and provide needed training (Developing and Sustaining, n.d.). During the Performing stage, all team members are working at an optimal level.
The second stage, Storming, is characterised by competition and conflict. To grow from this stage to the next, each team member must be prepared to risk the possibility of conflict. They need to discuss difficult issues and challenge each other. Team members are unfamiliar with the groups tasks and so they rely heavily on the group leader for guidance and direction. One of those rules can be to remember to always listen to one another.
Set clear goals
Also, as team members leave and new team members join, the team might go back through the stages. While his work started with only the first four stages, in 1977 Tuckman and his doctoral student Mary Ann Jensen added the fifth stage, adjourning, to indicate when a team has completed a project. Team Meetings GuideLearn how the world’s best companies run effective team meetings – featuring insights from Figma, Buffer, Close, Webflow, Shopify, and more. Fellow for EnterpriseSupport company leaders with Fellow’s uniform meeting templates, collaborative one-on-one meetings, and feedback tools.
Perhaps the best-known scheme for a group development was advanced by Bruce Tuckman in 1965. Initially, Tuckman identified four stages of group development, which included the stages of forming, storming, norming and performing. A fifth stage was later added by Tuckman about ten years later, which is called adjourning. It is believed that these stages are universal to all teams despite the group’s members, purpose, goal, culture, location, demographics and so on. It’s critical that leaders understand team development is a process that doesn’t happen overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the storming stage, the reality and weight of completing the task at hand have now hit everyone. The initial feelings of excitement and the need to be polite have likely worn off. But, because this stage focuses more on the people than on the work, your team probably won’t be very productive yet. (Although, it does make the stages easier to remember.) Each is aptly named and plays a vital part in building a high-functioning team.
