Tuckman and Four Stages of Group Development

History of Tuckman and Four Stages

Bruce Tuckman (psychologist) came up with it in his 1965 article, "Developmental Sequence in Small Groups," added a fifth stage later called "adjourning" (mourning)

4 Stages

Forming, Storming Norming Performing (Adjourning)

Adjourning

a. All will reach this stage eventually because project teams exist only for fixed period and even permanent teams may be messed up through restructuring b. Some find this stage difficult because future seems uncertain

Norming

a. Happens gradually and when people start to resolve differences, appreciate each others' strengths and respect leader's authority b. Team: since they know each other better, they may start to socialize and ask each other for help and feedback. Start to develop a stronger commitment to the team goal= good progress

Forming

a. Team: First stage in which most team members are positive and polite and some anxious since they are unsure as to what work the team will accomplish and some are just plain excited. b. Leader: plays important role in this stage because team members aren't clear on roles and responsibilities c. Stage: can last for a while because people try to start to get to know/ work with each other

Performing

a. Team: hard work leads, without friction, to the achievement of the team's goals b. Leader: structures and processes they set up work well; they can delegate much of their work and can concentrate now on development of team members c. Easy to be a part of the team at this stage and people who join or leave won't disrupt performance

Storming

a. Team: people start to push against boundaries established in the forming stage, many teams fail at this stage; this happens when there is a conflict because of different natural working styles (people work in different ways/styles) and people can get frustrated and this causes problems. i. Some may question team's worth/goal ii. Some team members can get stressed especially if they don't support the team's work or have strong relationships with their colleagues b. Leader: team members may challenge authority or try to get a higher position as roles are clarified; leaders have to have defined roles clearly or people could get overwhelmed or become uncomfortable with the approach the leader uses

purpose of Tuckman's Four Stages

forming a team takes time and members go through these recognizable stages as they change from being a collection of strangers to a united group with common goals