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| After the "Storming" |
As a consultant, I often find myself
in the position of working with new teams.
In general, I love this aspect of my chosen profession. Meeting new people, learning new things,
hearing new perspectives, and being in a position of service to help others achieve
their fullest potential; all these are positive aspects about working with
teams.
There are definitely some drawbacks to constantly forming
new teams, however, and that is where today’s topic comes into play. The Tuckman Model, coined by psychologist
Bruce Tuckman in his 1965 article entitled “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups” describes “forming, storming, norming, and performing,” as a typical
path that most teams follow as they work together. As would be expected, the “Storming” part of
team interaction is not always sunshine and rainbows. *Reference: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm
However, rather than
eschew or deny the natural progression of the Tuckman Model, it is quite
helpful to embrace it. Merely knowing
that it is NORMAL to “Storm” at some point helps to give perspective and
provide assurances that we are just like everyone else. This awareness can alleviate some of the
emotional response which inevitably follows the “Storming” phase, and offers
the light at the end of the tunnel that the “Norming” phase is coming soon!
A few more
considerations for each stage, based on personal experience. “Forming” a team is often an exciting time,
where people are happy to get to know each other, and everything is fun and
new. Then as reality sets in, often accompanied
by ambiguity and feelings of being overwhelmed, the “Storming” ensues. The speed of this transition seems to depend
on the frequency of interactions. If
your team interacts less frequently, it often will take longer to hit
“Storming.”
Last year I began
working with a new client on a particular project and things seemed to be going
great for several weeks. We were only
meeting once per week, though, and it became obvious around the 6-week mark
that some team members were not performing the responsibilities we agreed they
would perform given their role as described in our Charter. Storms ensued! Another time, I was working with a project
team more than full-time on a two week fixed duration project. We started storming around Day 3 when
personality conflicts arose and a few too many “cooks” appeared in the kitchen.
In both cases, however,
the teams moved into Norming, again at different times. In the case where the team was meeting
weekly, we actually had to re-evaluate the goals of the project as well as the
roles and responsibilities, and unfortunately that project was shelved in favor
of another one that benefited from the team’s better understanding of each
other’s personalities and strengths before beginning. In the two-week blitz project, we divided
task ownership and moved on within 2 days to leave a full week of truly productive
work (norming to performing!) before finishing.
In Norming, teams are
productive and work together to deliver results, but there may still be some
hiccups in knowing who is most proficient at what, and who to ask for certain
types of help. However, if your team
ever gets into Performing, it feels like a well-oiled machine; I recall one
project team that definitely experienced all phases, but the project endured
long enough to get to the point where we could count on each other for specific
types of help or results, and it felt like we were just knocking balls out of
the park every day!
Sadly, a final drawback
of a Consultant’s life is that consulting engagements often end before the team
really hits its stride in Performing.
However, AJC hopes to leave teams poised to move into this phase
internally, and hopefully there will be opportunities for future engagements
with many of the same team members. This
does not eliminate going through the Tuckman Model stages all together, but
definitely helps increase the pace from Forming to Norming and sets us up for
achievement of the coveted stage of Performing!
Read
this article and more on AJC’s blog, and sign up for our newsletter online at: http://andreajonesconsulting.com/blog.aspx
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