Transform a group of strangers into a fully functional team using Bruce Tuckman’s 4 stages of team development.
Tim is responsible for a team at his company. The team members collaborate, solve problems, plan work, and deliver results. Monika is also responsible for a small team at her company, but many things are not going well. The team is constantly fighting and arguing, the rules and goals are still unknown to most, and one thing is clear: they are not delivering results.
Both teams have great people with similar cross-functional knowledge and skills, yet one of them is very successful while the other… well, quite unsuccessful.
What is the secret?
What Monika did not know, and what Tim and his team went through almost effortlessly, are the four stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Let’s take a closer look at these stages:
Forming
Here, team members get to know each other and learn more about the project they will tackle together. If the team were an orchestra, in this phase they would learn a lot about the individual musicians who will be part of the upcoming concert and also learn something about the piece of music they will play.
What should Monika pay attention to here?
In this phase, she should help team members get to know each other and create a pleasant working environment. It is about establishing a healthy relationship level among team members.
Storming
In this phase, the musicians tune their instruments and show what they can do. However, it is still not decided who will play first violin or how many percussion instruments they need. Team members learn what it is like to work together and familiarize themselves with the project. But this is also the phase where the first problems appear. There are initial conflicts between team members; disputes, disagreements. There may also be problems with the project itself. Perhaps the task is more difficult than expected, the objectives were not clear enough, or initial results do not meet the expectations of some team members. This phase may often feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, it helps team members find their role and define their function.
What can Monika do here?
She can help the team keep a cool head and emphasize that it is completely normal if things do not run quite smoothly in this phase. With the project goal in mind, she should consciously guide the team into the next phase.
Norming
In this phase, we almost have a fully functional team pursuing a common goal. Now it is time to develop ground rules for how collaboration is best organized, which processes, methods, and procedures are used, and through which channels the team communicates. In our orchestra, the rehearsal schedule is adjusted and a common interpretation of the musical notes is found.
Performing
In this phase, team members are independent, competent, and ready to advance the project autonomously. In this phase, Monika can let her team work in peace and only needs to intervene in exceptional cases. The concert can begin.
These were Tuckman’s four stages on the path to a successful team.
How does this model benefit you?
- You can diagnose which stage your team is in.
- You can use the model to consciously initiate the different phases.
- You can handle difficult situations much better because you know you are on the right track, even when things are crashing and grinding. It is just phase 2. No reason to panic!
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