Comedian George Carlin once joked in his spoof of a news report that “in Central Park today, police arrested a one armed man who was bothering the other boaters by continuously rowing in a circle”. With all deference and respect to our disabled readers and friends, the idea of rowing in a circle is very appropriate when discussing team formation and development.
An interesting dynamic often develops once a leader has everyone in the boat… conflict. If anything can lead a team into rowing their boat in a circle, it is conflict and poor management thereof. Understanding the formative stages of a team's development is critical to getting all oars in the water and all team members rowing in unison. By first gaining an understanding of the stages of team development, we are able to respond to those stages effectively rather than react to them (responsiveness is a positive, reactionary behavior is not). Some of the developmental stages teams evolve through can get a bit ugly and frustrating, but according to Dr. Tuckman's developmental model, they are normal and do in fact represent team development.
An interesting dynamic often develops once a leader has everyone in the boat… conflict. If anything can lead a team into rowing their boat in a circle, it is conflict and poor management thereof. Understanding the formative stages of a team's development is critical to getting all oars in the water and all team members rowing in unison. By first gaining an understanding of the stages of team development, we are able to respond to those stages effectively rather than react to them (responsiveness is a positive, reactionary behavior is not). Some of the developmental stages teams evolve through can get a bit ugly and frustrating, but according to Dr. Tuckman's developmental model, they are normal and do in fact represent team development.
Conflict is indeed one of the formative stages of team development that must be carefully managed or it may with certainty, destroy productive team movement. The multiple unique personalities seeking positioning and role identity within a team’s structure often exhibit themselves through counterproductive behaviors and “me first” attitudes. Such behaviors and attitudes in our proverbial “boat”, quite simply make our boat far too small for a TEAM. As we continue with our “boat” metaphor for team engagement and development, let’s discuss what Dr. Bruce Tuckman defined as the developmental phases of the team.
In 1965, Dr. Bruce Tuckman identified four phases of team development (he later added a fifth stage) that I believe provides perfect clarity as to the evolution of team behaviors and dynamics. Dr. Tuckman asserts that among peak performing teams the following five phases of development inevitably will occur. Once on the other side of the developmental hurdles, peak performance and unified team interaction can become an ultimate outcome. However, making it to the other side of the five phases is the challenge that the most determined coaches or leaders often find elusive. Navigating through the phases requires an essential understanding of what those phase behaviors are, how they might exhibit themselves in each phase, how leadership should interpret and respond to such behaviors and what the behaviors represent regarding team development. Leadership must manage itself through these phases in order to guide the effective development of its’ group of individuals into a mature and peak performing TEAM.
Dr. Tuckman referred to the five phases in the following manner:
Forming: The stage where teams are first assembled. Personal behaviors are self managed and motivated by a need for acceptance by other team members and/or team leadership. Issues are avoided as team members focus on organizational tasks and model or observe how other team members interact and perform. Team leadership is typically an active director in this stage of development.
Storming: In the Storming stage, team member ideas compete for consideration. Team members will begin to identify roles of participation and tolerances for the behaviors of fellow team members (or lack thereof). Conflict begins to rise to the surface as team member behaviors may become contentious. This phase can be a very unpleasant area of team development and requires that leadership keep team members focused on objectives and growth. Each team member should continuously be encouraged toward tolerance and patience. Remind all that without patience and tolerance the entire team can implode and fail. Leadership must focus the team through this phase to ensure continued motivation and an enduring desire for goal achievement. This phase can destroy a team beyond repair. Many teams do not achieve growth beyond this stage.
Leaders should strive to maintain a directive approach and avoid being drawn into taking sides in conflict. An impartial approach by leadership helps to promote “non-partisan” communication with team members who may become more open in discussing team issues. Leadership may take this opportunity to suggest points of view that promote maturity beyond “storming” issues.
At Storming, the team members may be in the boat, one or two team members may have picked up an oar, but the boat may be still resting at the shoreline, in shallow water, or unable to make it through rough tide at best. Team members may be debating over who sits at the stern, middle or aft section of the boat and who or why each of them must use an oar (exert effort).
Norming: As a team achieves the “norming” stage, a mutual goal begins to surface. Some team members have overcome their issues of conflict or let go of them in an effort to support team growth and effective functioning. At “norming”, team members have taken on the responsibility of achieving a unified goal. Personal ambitions tend to serve the team objective and individuals no longer fight for self promotion, (productive actions speak for themselves). The team is beginning to function effectively and is in active pursuit of achievement of team goals. Team leadership may lessen its’ directive approach as team members are now familiar with structural process and role responsibilities.
The boat is moving away from the shoreline, it is beginning to build momentum with each stroke. The team is beginning to realize that in unison the move more quickly and efficiently through the water. The boat no longer lurches with movement but consistently progresses toward the opposite shore.
Performing: The team has graduated from positive and effective interaction to highly effective, peak performing activity. Such teams function almost intuitively and promote efficiency and require limited supervision in task performance. Performing teams are motivated, competent and knowledgeable. Performing teams are often decision making teams whose decisions serve the greater needs of team productivity and development. Conflict or dissent is not pervasive, when it occurs it is managed in a manner that is deemed appropriate by the team. The team is mature at this stage and is actively making required decisions with autonomy, leadership adopts more of a participant role and less of a director role.
The boat is moving with speed through the water. Each stroke is one graceful, yet powerful thrust forward. The work is easier because all team members are in pursuit of excellence. Maximum effort is engaged, total buy-in exists and interestingly enough, because total buy-in exists, the maximum effort employed seems effortless. The opposite shoreline is in sight. Each team member intuitively provides the next stroke, his oar and his effort operate with maximum efficiency and in perfect harmony with the others in the boat. The destination grows nearer with each team members engaged action. The shore is near.
Occasionally regression to the “storming” phase may occur even when a team is at the mature stage of “performing”. This typically comes about when dramatic changes in the team dynamic occur (a change in leadership or changes in critical team roles may prompt a regression). When such changes occur, the five stage process may resume from the beginning, but possibly adapt more quickly if a majority of mature team members are present, (team members involved in the “performing” phase).
Adjourning: Dr. Bruce Tuckman added “Adjourning” to his developmental model in 1977. Dr. Tuckman realized that as a team matures and achieves peak performance, critical team members and participants promote or move on, tasks or projects conclude and teams become restructured. This causes the adjournment of the specific project team or a resumption of the development model at the “forming” stage.
BCN 1-16-2012
MB Nichols Company
MB Nichols Company
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