Purpose
Team development is vital if an organisation is to solve problems and meet its goals. Bruce Tuckman’s Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing Framework provides a useful model of team behaviour. The framework illustrates four stages that explain and guide team building and achievement.
How To Use Tuckman’s Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing Framework
For leaders, the framework prepares you for the way a team should develop. You can use the framework to anticipate a team’s needs. This enables you to deal with any needs and problems in advance.
The first stage is Forming. This is when a team comes together. You can expect the team to rely heavily on you for purpose and direction. Team members are likely to question you about issues such as the boundaries of the team’s responsibilities, and the team’s relationships with other groups in the organisation. If the team is unfamiliar with you, some members may assess your leadership skills by testing your attitudes and tolerance.
Stage two is Storming. The name suggests an element of chaos. During this period, you have to maintain the team’s concentration on its purpose. This can prove difficult because team members are trying to find their place and status in relation to each other. Cliques may form. There may be power struggles as one clique tries to gain supremacy over another. A clique or individual may even challenge your role as leader.
The next stage is Norming. The team settles down into a cohesive unit. Members begin to react positively and consistently to your role as leader. Each team member becomes clear about individual responsibilities. This is the stage at which you as leader may even begin to delegate some of your power within the team. During the Norming stage, engaging in team building activities outside work can help create mutual respect.
The final stage is Performing. This is when the team proves itself. It doesn’t just work hard to achieve goals – it attempts to do better. All discussions result in positive action. And you find you have to give far less instruction and help.
Limitations
Over the past 45 years, Tuckman’s four-stage framework has become widely accepted. It is popular in its own right, and as the basis of similar team building models.
There are two possible limitations, however. One is that the stages may overlap. This depends on the personalities and skills of a team’s members. The other limitation is that the framework doesn’t consider individual roles within a team.
But if you’re aware of these problems, you can overcome them. They do not reduce the effectiveness of the framework as a guide to overall team development.
Related Subjects
Since creating his original four-stage model, Tuckman has proposed a fifth stage. He refers to this as Adjourning.
Adjourning occurs when a team has done its job and disbands. It is a chance to look back and take stock of what a team has achieved. Each team member can use this knowledge and the insights gained from it to prepare for a fresh challenge.
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