From extensive
research in group dynamics and the process of team building, we know a
great deal about how teams operate. Theory
on team development predicts that teams, like individuals, pass through
predictable stage over time. The
most well known model is that of Bruce Tuckman.
Four
Stages
In 1965, Bruce
Tuckman published his famous model that identifies four distinct stages
within a group’s
life. In his studies of team
behaviors, he described the stages as Forming, Storming, Norming, and
Performing.
Final
Stage
Teams have a finite
life, a final stage. They form
for a specific purpose and must disband once their mission is complete.
Consequently, there is a fifth and final stage, sometimes called Adjourning.
Stages
Reflect Two Aspects
The stages reflect
two aspects or orientations of team development:
1.
The tasks the team takes on, and
2.
The interpersonal group process.
Things
to Remember
·
Each stage is
characteristically different and builds on the preceding one.
·
The linear
progression of team development as described is not always sequential.
·
Teams cycle
through the stages over and over depending on the make-up of the team.
·
Change in leadership or team members require
returning to the forming stage.
·
Also, not
paying attention to the important development steps at any one stage will
cause the team to revert to that stage.
·
A successful
group is one that can move deftly back and forth between these stages as
circumstances change.
·
While the obvious goal is
to get to the Performing stage as soon as possible, it is a fruitless
exercise to attempt to skip stages in the development of the group.
Although groups attempt it regularly, the result is a general
distrust of groups and an assumption that a group will be unproductive.
