Tuckmans model for Team Development
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| − | The first stage in Tuckman's model is called "Forming", which marks the start of the development of a team. Forming is characterized by orientation and uncertainty. The members do not fully know the task and the other memebers at this point. The key in this stage is therefore to identify the assignment and the challenges, as well as set up guidelines and boundaries for the group. The main activity for the project managers is to establish relationships with the single members and form a culture of acceptance and creativity in the group. | + | The first stage in Tuckman's model is called "Forming", which marks the start of the development of a team. Forming is characterized by orientation and uncertainty. The members do not fully know the task and the other memebers at this point. The key in this stage is therefore to identify the assignment and the challenges, as well as set up guidelines and boundaries for the group. Within the orientation process, both interpersonal, as well as professional and task-related acclimatization occurrs to familiriaze with group and project. |
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| + | The main activity for the project managers is to establish relationships with the single members and form a culture of acceptance and creativity in the group. | ||
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Revision as of 12:14, 15 February 2021
Contents |
Abstract
In every project the executing team plays an important role. In 1965, the American psychologist Bruce Tuckman introduced his model for group development. This model consists of 4 stages: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. Tuckman suggested that teams will need to go through all of those stages within a project to grow together and be successful. [1]. With his ideas, Tuckman set the basis for the research on group development and the related activities and processes. [2]
According to the inventor, every phase is defined by certain characteristics and a set of activities that should be performed in order to move on. [3] This translates directly to the role of the project manager, who is responsible for guidance, group development and eventually the success of the project itself [4].
The Forming phase is characterised by orientation. The group members get to know each other, set goals, a timeline, and a structure. In the Storming stage first problems appear and frustration levels increase. The Norming phase then overlaps with the previous Storming stage. Within this phase, group members become aware of their peers’ strengths and start to value them. Productivity levels typically rise during Norming. Performing is the last of the 4 initial stages. It is about facing the challenges of the project and performing the actual tasks. [1]
Even though Tuckman’s model of group development certainly has evolved over time, it is still relevant today [3]. However, it has been subject to various changes and additions over the last decades. This article will focus especially on those adaptations and evolution and explain the differences, as well as application possibilities.
Tuckman's basic Model
In this section the basic model of Tuckman will be presented. In each section there will be a decription of the characteristics and tasks of the phase. There will also be a explanation about the role of the project manager in all of them.
Forming
The first stage in Tuckman's model is called "Forming", which marks the start of the development of a team. Forming is characterized by orientation and uncertainty. The members do not fully know the task and the other memebers at this point. The key in this stage is therefore to identify the assignment and the challenges, as well as set up guidelines and boundaries for the group. Within the orientation process, both interpersonal, as well as professional and task-related acclimatization occurrs to familiriaze with group and project.
The main activity for the project managers is to establish relationships with the single members and form a culture of acceptance and creativity in the group.
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adaptations
There have been various evolutions of Tuckman's initial model. Some of them will be presented in the following.
Tuckman and Jensen (Adjourning)
Swarming
Group Development for Practitioners
The Punctuated-Tuckman
Application
While Tuckman developed the theoretical model of group development, the practical takeaways might differ. Some of the application possibilities, difficulties, issues, and potentials will be displayed in the following.
Bibliography
Susan L. Adams & Vittal Anantatmula (2010): "Social and Behavioral Influences on Team Process" in Project Management Journal 41 (4)
Adams and Anantatmula link the role of the project manager to the different stages of Tuckman's model very clearly. While they mainly use a slightly different model for the team development, they always refer back to Tuckman. Their research highlights the importance of the project manager within the grozup context and therefore also the role of Tuckman's model within a project management framework.
Kate Cassidy (2006): "Tuckman Revisited: Proposing a New Model of Group Development for Practitioners" in Journal of Experiential Education 29 (3)
This article describes an adaptation of Tuckman's model from a more practical perspective. While it uses the model from 1965 as a basis, it describes several additional strategies to implement and use it in an actual practical context.
Denise A. Bonebright (2010): "40 years of storming: a historical review of Tuckman's model of small group development" in Human Resource Development International 13 (1)
Provides a very good and detailed overview of the history of the model and how it became the scientific standard.
Tudor Rickards (2002): "Creative Leadership Processes in Project Team Development: An Alternative to Tuckman's Stage Model" in British Journal of Management 11 (4)
Rickards uses Tuckman's model to implement his own ideas and solve some challenges within the structure.
Russel Haines (2014): "Group development in virtual teams: An experimental reexamination" in Computers in Human Behavior 39
Especially in the context of the global pandemic 2020/2021, virtual teams become more and more important in the economic work. Haines describes problems that arise in this context and how Tuckman's model has to be modified to deal with those.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tuckman, Bruce W. (1965): Developmental Sequence in small groups. In Psychological Bulletin 65 (6), pp. 384-399.
- ↑ Bonebright, Denise A. (2010): 40 years of storming: a historical review of Tuckman's model of small group development, in Human Resource Development International 13 (1), pp. 111-120
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Miller, Diane L. (2003): The Stages of Group Development: A Retrospective Study of Dynamic Team Processes. In Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences 20 (2), pp. 121-134.
- ↑ Project Management Institute Inc. (2017): Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition), pp. 51-68
