Navigating Group Dynamics: From Forming and Storming to Norming and Performing
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” – Henry Ford
When starting a new group or team, leaders often use Tuckman’s model of group development. This model describes the stages of forming, storming, norming, and performing. It’s popular and widely used. However, it doesn’t always explain what individuals go through personally or the specific steps needed to create high-performing teams.
At Groove Management, I’ve observed many top-performing teams. It’s fascinating to see what makes them excel. They address personal issues and handle all the key functions needed for team success. This includes taking time for team time-outs and managing team dynamics and boundaries.
To complement Tuckman’s model, I find Ed Schein’s framework on team dynamics particularly helpful. By leveraging both models, leaders can gain a more comprehensive and practical guide to building high-performing teams.
Understanding Personal Problems and Feelings in the Forming-Storming Stages
During the initial forming stage, people often struggle with personal questions about their identity, influence, needs, and acceptance within the group. These concerns can show up as frustration, anxiety, and tension, causing them to use different coping mechanisms.
Identity: Who am I to be?
Influence: Will I be able to influence others?
Needs: Will the group goals include my needs?
Acceptance: Will I be accepted and liked?
“Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.” – Max Lucado
Challenges with these negative emotions often lead to self-focused coping strategies:
Be Tough: Fighting, controlling, resisting authority.
Be Nice: Supporting, helping, forming alliances.
Be Passive: Indifference, overuse of ‘logic and reason’.
It’s important for leaders and teams to recognize these feelings and behaviors. They need to address and support each other as they go through the forming and storming stages.
Key Functions in Groups: Task, Maintenance, and Boundary Management
As groups move from the storming stage to the norming and performing stages, they are now much more capable to focus on the task at hand (Task Functions), as well as other important functions such as Maintenance and Boundary Management.
Task Functions
Initiate work on task: How do we start?
Exchange information: What do we know?
Exchange opinions: What do we think?
Clarify: What are we missing?
Elaborate: What does it mean?
Maintenance Functions
Balancing member activity levels: How do we keep active and passive members involved appropriately?
Harmonizing and compromising: How do we reduce destructive disagreements?
Checking in: How do members feel about the group?
Setting and testing standards: How do we define and test group norms?
Boundary Management
Boundary defining: Who is in? Who is out?
Scouting: What’s happening outside our group? Are we safe?
Negotiating: What do we need to get from others?
Translating: How do we achieve internal comprehension and external acceptance?
Guarding: Who is invited? What info is shared with outsiders?
Managing entry and exit: What do our entry and exit events look like?
From Forming-Storming to Norming and Performing: Practical Steps
To successfully move from the storming phase to the performing phase, leaders need to address both individual and group dynamics:
Acknowledge Individual Concerns: Validate and address the personal concerns of team members regarding their identity, influence, needs, and acceptance.
Foster Open Communication: Encourage open dialogue to share information, opinions, and clarify uncertainties.
Balance Activities: Ensure all members are engaged and active, promoting harmony and compromise when conflicts arise.
Define Boundaries: Clearly define the roles and boundaries within the team, as well as the group’s interactions with external entities.
One simple way to help the team improve is to allocate some time in the meeting, such as 15 to 30 minutes to collect feedback on the meeting. One way to do this could be using the Group’s Effectiveness Assessment Survey.
By understanding and addressing these dynamics, leaders can help their teams get through the storming phase more smoothly. This sets the stage for a high-performing, unified team. Using Ed Schein’s insights along with Tuckman’s model gives a solid framework for managing group development. It makes sure that both individual and group needs are met for the best performance.
