Four Stages of Team Development

They will waste time and lose their focus if they have to answer frequent, unscheduled questions about what they’re working on. Encourage team members to develop a schedule filled with large blocks of time that are free from interruptions like meetings or check-ins. In this world of constant notifications, it’s easy for people to get derailed and forget which goals are really important.

• The main goal here is to keep the momentum going so that the project wraps up on time.
• The Forming–Storming–Norming–Performing model of group development was first proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965.
• It highlights the performance level, characteristics, and proven strategies for each of the phases.
• In the real world, teams are often forming and changing, and each time that happens, they can move to a different Tuckman Stage.
• The five stages of team development are designed to help with forming teams and allowing them to thrive at work.
• Agile project management thought leader, influencer, and author Scott M. Graffius developed a related custom illustration, Phases of Team Development.

Members often have high positive expectations for the team experience. At the same time, they may also feel some anxiety, wondering how they will fit in to the team and if their performance will measure up. In this stage, team members are creating new ways of doing and being together. As the group develops cohesion, leadership changes from ‘one’ teammate in charge to shared leadership. Team members learn they have to trust one another for shared leadership to be effective.

Get Your New Group or Team Performing Beautifully!

American psychological researcher Bruce Tuckman developed the theory of Tuckman’s stages of group development in 1965. It is important to remember that even though a team may be “Performing”, reversion to earlier phases can still occur. To grow from this stage, team members need to build their collaborative ability.

Teammates meet, discover group member strengths and weaknesses, explore the basics of the project, and form group goals. Group members designate roles and delegate responsibilities with help from team leaders. A fundamental component of both Human Resources Management and Project Management is the development of high-performing teams.

Stages of Team Development: Forming Teams

Next up is the performing stage, which tends to be where there is the most cohesive work environment, people are happy and excited and team performance is at an all-time high. There’s a clear and stable structure in place throughout the group and everyone is fully committed to achieving the goals put in place. In the performing stage, there’s a sense of focus, purpose, and alignment from everyone on the team, no matter their role. The team members are trying to figure out their roles and what the team should be doing, which can lead to some conflict. In addition to establishing your team’s mission or goal, it’s also important to set roles for individual team members.

Understanding Tuckman’s development process can increase your chances of reaching project goal. Throwing a group of talented people together doesn’t mean that they will form a great team. Hoping that your company or project will be a success won’t make it happen. But, it is important to remember that most teams experience conflict.

Applying Tuckerman’s Stages of Development to Project Management and HRM

A team comprises individuals brought together to fulfill a common goal. Everyone plays a critical role in meeting the goal since each has a unique skill set. It might not be possible to plan an in-person meet-up, especially if your projects have short turnaround times. Create an agenda and establish a document to track ideas and comments during the meeting.

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Managers must strive to become adaptive leaders—leaders who prize creativity, collaboration, integrity, and innovation. After the project concludes, the team gathers one last time for a retrospective meeting on what went well, what didn’t go so well, and what could be done better next time.

Stage 5: The Adjourning Stage

Alternatively, if your team is having challenges meshing, it may take them longer to get work done. To guide your team as it develops, it helps to understand the stages of group development. Once norms are established and the team is functioning as a unit, it enters the performing stage. By now team members work together easily on interdependent tasks and are able to communicate and coordinate effectively. There are fewer time-consuming distractions based on interpersonal and group dynamics. For this reason, motivation is usually high and team members have confidence in their ability to attain goals.

The team has just been introduced and everyone is overly polite and pleasant. At the start, most are excited to start something new and to get to know the other team members. We would like to inform you that the contents of our website are for non-binding informational purposes only and does not in any way constitute legal advice.

As a team leader, it is your job to make sure everyone is seen and heard. The five most famous stages of team development are known as Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning. Challenges have a minimal impact on team performance and morale because members have strategies for resolving them without compromising project timelines and progress.

After the internal conflicts have been resolved, the team members begin to exhibit a sense of cohesion and are more comfortable with one another. They begin sharing their ideas and giving feedback to one another, increasing the group’s overall creativity. Every team has different needs when it comes to their development. Which means, you may experience these stages in sequential order, or find yourself in a loop with one or more of the stages outlined above. As you learn about their progress, you ask them questions about their processes and notice how they collaboratively provide constructive answers. As you communicate with them you notice how confidently they articulate their ideas.

Projects that require a lot of teamwork show companies how important it is to have an organised and effective HR team. Team management is an important skill a leader needs to have, but it is also a very difficult task. Every group of people presents a unique challenge for a leader to tackle. The five stages of team development are designed to help with forming teams and allowing them to thrive at work.

Stages of Team Development [Complete Guide]

Forming activities include abstract discussions of the concepts and issues; some members will be impatient with these discussions. There is often difficulty in identifying some of the relevant problems because there is so much going on that members get distracted. The team often accomplishes stages of team development little concerning its goals in this stage. Greater team cohesion means members can rely on each other to complete work and provide feedback in order to continually improve. They are starting to trust each other, which means increased productivity and effective decision making.

Using Bruce Tuckman’s Phases of Team Development to Help Your Team Grow and Advance: 2021 Update

As a team leader, it is your job to make sure everyone feels seen and heard. Maintaining an effective team is much like maintaining a garden; if left unattended, it loses its ability to thrive. Team development ensures that the team can thrive in the long term. Have productive meetings your team can be proud of with a clear meeting agenda for every event in your calendar. For example, the seven-member executive team at Whole Foods spends time together outside of work. Its members frequently socialize and even take group vacations.

Human Capital Management

When teams are forming, they are just getting to know each other. The Five Stages of Team Developmentwere developed by psychologist Bruce Tuckman in 1965. These five stages advance as a team works together, but especially when a team brings awareness to their dynamic. It’s easy for everyone — including you — to get in a tunnel and focus on their own lists of tasks. Make sure everyone steps back each day or week to take a look at the larger picture. But understanding, managing, and communicating about finances can improve the quality of your life and relationships.

Establish your team’s mission early

Most teams get to the adjourning stage at some point but that’s not always the case. Some teams get created for projects with endpoints, while others are ongoing. However, even teams built for permanent projects can still undergo the adjourning process due to restructuring and re-allocation. The stage can cause uncertainty, especially among team members who are unsure about their subsequent roles.

While those people are still available when we need them, we usually don’t. Most teams today work according to the principles of the agile movement. Even if you’re not “Agile” , you self-organize around tasks. You don’t wait to be told how to do your job – you determine the best way to meet your objectives and get on with it. Many teams will continue to have bouts of “Storming” from time-to-time, for example, after an organisational change.