Question

Apply Tuckman's Five-Stage Model for group and team development to your group experiences. I'll save you the trouble of searching for the five stages: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning.

Part 1: From the group leader's perspective provide a brief description of each stage. What can the group leader do to help the group in each stage?

Part 2: Using your own group experiences with your SDG group or another group, describe a personal experience that you had at each stage. Yes, that requires you to describe FIVE different experiences; one personal experience for each of the FIVE stag

Answer 1

Bruce Tuckman identified a 5-stage team development process that is universal to all the teams. These stages are called: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning.

Part1: From the group leader's perspective provide a brief description of each stage. What can the group leader do to help the group in each stage?

1. Forming: The team is formed and responsibilities are divided. The team members have lack of trust and understanding among each other and tend to behave independently. Leader plays a dominant role here and takes control to direct the team about their purpose, objectives and help them become familiar with each other.

2. Storming: By this stage group members already have an understanding of the task and everyone attempts to take their ideas forward and hence agreement on decisions within the group becomes really difficult. This stage is thus marked by conflict and competition. A strong leadership which can guide the team away from distractions and get them focused on the team’s goal can only mark success at this stage.

3. Norming: As the moves into the norming stage, the differences are resolved and the consensus is formed. The team discusses and progresses through cooperation. Members are flexible and acknowledge the talent/skill that all other members bring to the table. The team leader in this stage can step back and play a facilitating role, as individual members take greater responsibility.

4. Performing: In the performing stage, team has a shared vision and is more organized and stable. It can very well stand on its own feet and resolve any problems constructively. There is a greater sense of cooperation and work towards achieving the goal while looking after each other. At this stage, leader must start delegating his work to the team and concentrate on assisting the team members in their interpersonal development.

5. Adjourning: Generally the teams are formed to work on a particular project and once that is completed, team is supposed to get dissolved. In adjourning stage, the wrapping up of final tasks takes place and individual members are assigned to other teams. A celebratory event can be organized at this stage, so that everyone can leave with warm memories.

Part 2: Using your own group experiences with your SDG group or another group, describe a personal experience that you had at each stage. Yes, that requires you to describe FIVE different experiences; one personal experience for each of the FIVE stage

While I was working in my previous organization I joined the project in the mid stage. At first since I and other 2 members were new comers whereas others were already working in it since long. The team leader, who we had to report to, really played an important role in getting us cordial with the rest of the members and made us feel comfortable.

Later during the work many a times we had to deal with the conflicts as sometimes we would desire a particular task to be assigned to us but it would be assigned to someone else. There were conflicts as we saw only our task as our responsibility and didn’t realize that it was a team work. But somehow with proper guidance and timely recognition we were able to get the proper understanding.

The transition from norming to performing stage was rather easy as we would help each other and make sure the team deadlines are timely met. Many a times it might happen that after finishing our task we would also share someone’s responsibility to help them achieve their targets. We would go for team parties and celebrate the festivals together. We would also play fun games on the last working day of every week and go for tea breaks together.

When the project had to handed over to the client and team had to be dissolved, I could see how people were sad about leaving and rather some of them by talking to our manager they got assigned to the same project that she was leading. So officially team got dissolved for one project, but many of them came together for another one. I resigned as I had to leave for my higher education but I will carry those memories with me for lifetime.