Team Development Stages

Tuckman’s stages of group development apply to teams just as they do to ordinary groups, with the extra weight that comes from a team’s deeper interdependence. At each stage, a school head has specific work to do to support the team’s progress. The fifth stage, adjourning, was added by Tuckman with Mary Ann Jensen in 1977 to cover the team’s eventual disbanding.

Why the stages matter

Teams do not arrive at high performance overnight. They go through stages, and the work the team does at each stage is different. A school head who recognises the stages can support the team’s progress; one who does not often interrupts the development and sends the team backwards.

Teams and groups are living organisms with certain predictable stages of development.

Stage 1: Forming

Period in which members are guarded in their interactions as they’re not sure what to expect from other team members. Also the period in which members form opinions of their teammates. Productivity is low during this stage.

A new team starts in forming. Members are polite. They are watching each other. They are working out who does what, who can be trusted, what the team is really for.

Productivity is low. Members are still building the foundation for productive work. This is normal and necessary.

What the leader should do during forming

Share responsibility, encourage open dialogue, provide structure, direct team issues, develop a climate of trust and respect.

The leader’s job during forming has five parts:

1. Share responsibility. Distribute work so each member has something concrete to do. Avoid creating an early “star” or dominant voice.
2. Encourage open dialogue. Invite all voices. Notice who is quiet and bring them in.
3. Provide structure. Clear agendas, defined roles, agreed processes. Forming teams benefit from structure that holds them while trust builds.
4. Direct team issues. Address process issues openly. If two members are clashing, name it rather than letting it fester.
5. Develop trust and respect. Model the behaviours you want. Treat each member as a competent professional.

A leader who expects high performance from a forming team is disappointed. A leader who invests in the foundations gets the team to the next stage faster.

Stage 2: Storming

Characterised by competition and strained relationships among team members. Various degrees of conflict dealing with issues of power, leadership, and decision-making. This is the most critical stage for the team.

Storming is uncomfortable. The initial politeness has worn off. Differences in style, opinion, and priority surface. The team may seem worse than it did in forming.

Storming is essential. A team that does not storm has not actually engaged with the differences among its members. The differences are still there; they have just been suppressed. Suppressed conflict surfaces later, often at worse moments.

What the leader should do during storming

Joint problem solving, setting norms for different points of view, establishing decision-making procedures, encouraging two-way communication, supporting collaborative team efforts.

What the leader does during storming:

1. Joint problem solving. Don’t take over the conflict. Help the team work through it together.
2. Set norms for differences. Establish that disagreement is acceptable and expected. The team’s standard is respectful disagreement, not no disagreement.
3. Establish decision-making procedures. When the team cannot reach consensus, what happens? Vote? Defer to the leader? Take to the principal? Decide before you need it.
4. Encourage two-way communication. Make sure all voices are heard during the conflict, not just the loudest ones.
5. Support collaborative team efforts. Even when individuals are clashing, keep pulling them back to shared work.

A leader who panics during storming and replaces team members sends the team back to forming. The new members start the cycle over. Patience matters.

Stage 3: Norming

Characterised by cohesiveness among members. Members realise their commonalities and learn to appreciate their differences. Functional relationships are developed resulting in the evolution of trust among members.

After storming, teams that work through their differences emerge into norming. The conflicts have been resolved or set aside. Members understand each other. Working norms have developed.

Productivity rises noticeably in norming. The team is now functional. It is not yet at peak, but it produces useful work consistently.

What the leader should do during norming

Discuss frequently and openly about concerns, encourage members to manage the team process, give positive feedback, support consensus decision-making efforts, delegate to team members maximally.

Five actions:

1. Discuss concerns openly. Keep the norm of open conversation that was set during storming.
2. Encourage self-management. Let the team handle its own process more. Step back where possible.
3. Give positive feedback. Notice and name what the team is doing well. The team is now ready to be motivated by recognition.
4. Support consensus. Decisions reached together hold better than decisions imposed.
5. Delegate maximally. Give the team real authority over its work.

A leader who keeps too tight a grip during norming holds the team back from performing.

Stage 4: Performing

The team now has the capability to define tasks, work through relationships, and manage team conflicts by themselves. Members interact without fear of rejection. Leadership is participative and shared.

Performing is the high-output stage. The team functions fluently. Members handle conflict productively. They produce synergistic work.

Not every team reaches performing. Many stay at norming, doing solid work without ever hitting peak. Reaching performing usually requires sustained leadership attention through the earlier stages and stable membership for long enough.

What the leader should do during performing

Offer feedback when requested, support new ideas and ways of achieving outcomes, encourage ongoing self assessment, develop team members to their fullest potential, look for new ways.

Five actions:

1. Offer feedback when requested. The team mostly manages itself; the leader is a resource, not a director.
2. Support new ideas. A performing team generates ideas; back them.
3. Encourage self-assessment. The team checks its own work.
4. Develop members. Each member’s growth becomes a focus.
5. Look for new ways. Even peak performance needs occasional renewal.

Stage 5: Adjourning

Tuckman and Jensen added the adjourning stage in 1977 to cover the team’s end.

The team has completed its work. The focus is now on wrapping up final activities, recognising contributions, and managing the transition for members.

Adjourning matters for project teams, committees, and any team formed for a defined period. Members may feel a mix of pride, sadness, or relief; closure is the work of the stage. A team that adjourns well sends its members forward strengthened. A team that disbands without closure leaves members carrying unresolved feelings into their next assignments.

In a school: a project committee that wraps up the science fair, a year-end review of a grade-level team, a temporary curriculum review group reaching the end of its mandate. The leader’s role is to facilitate that ending: name what the team achieved, recognise individual contributions, and help members move forward.

Effective team decision making

The most effective teams make decisions by working through a clear consensus process:

The most effective teams arrive at decisions through “consensus” by following a rational process that includes: identifying the issues, setting a specific objective, gathering and analysing the facts, developing alternatives, deciding and acting.

Consensus does not mean unanimous agreement. It means reaching a decision the team can support, even where individual members would have preferred something different. The five-step process gives consensus structure.

A team that uses this process produces decisions that members commit to. A team that votes (winners and losers) or defers (no real decision) produces decisions that members do not fully own.

Flashcard

What are the five stages of team development, and what is the most common mistake leaders make during storming?

Tap to reveal

Answer

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning.

The most common mistake during storming: panic and replace team members. Replacing members resets the team to forming. The work of getting to the next stage starts over.

What the leader should do at each stage:

1. Forming. Share responsibility; provide structure; build trust.
2. Storming. Joint problem solving; set norms for disagreement; establish decision processes.
3. Norming. Encourage self-management; give positive feedback; delegate.
4. Performing. Offer feedback when requested; support new ideas; develop members.
5. Adjourning. Recognise contributions; provide closure; manage role transitions.

Patience through storming is the key skill. Open disagreement is healthier than suppressed conflict.