Tuckman's Model for Sustainable Team Development

Team development can be described as the process through which a group’s performance is boosted by improving team’s skills and communication. In order for a company to be successful and profitable, it is of vital importance to be capable of achieving teamwork of high standards and effective collaboration throughout the whole organizational structure. Although every team relies on different theories and strategies in order to continuously improve and develop, researchers have suggested approaches and models that can be implemented and explain how team behaviour and performance are connected and lead to fruitful development adding value across the company.

This article mainly investigates Tuckman’s model for team development by classifying the five stages through which teams can thrive, achieve goals and retain coherence over time. Each of the five stages of team development could be presented as a step on the team ladder. Understanding the concept behind the Tuckman's model implementation, boosts the successful project, program and portfolio management as well as the sustainable development of a company.

Model Description & Analysis

In an ideal business environment, it would be easy for the different teams across the company to perform efficiently and be really productive from the beginning of their collaboration. However, under real circumstances, it is an undoubted fact that team/group members have to be adapted separate business environments in order to perform at high standards achieving effectiveness, a process that requires time. Team efficiency is improved through continuous assessment of milestones aiming to attain targets and achieving project goals. Moreover, it is necessary for the team to breed creativity and keep the morale high especially when strict deadlines must be met and there is a lot of pressure.

The psychologist Bruce W. Tuckman investigated theories about the sustainable team development and he published the model he created regarding group development in 1965. His efforts mainly focused on the five process stages through which team members learn to collaborate with each other effectively avoiding conflicts and act professionally in order to boost company's performance. A thorough analysis of each stage is described below.

Forming

Forming is the initial stage that refers to the first contact of the team members, where an introduction meeting is held. Usually, the meeting agenda includes information about each individual's background, interests, and working experience. They also get an update about the project they will be responsible for, addressing potential objectives and goals while simultaneously considering their role in the project team and how they can combine their knowledge and work collaboratively.

During this initial stage of team development, it is significant for the project manager to precisely present the team goals and provide clear guidance regarding the project implementation as the team is highly dependent on him to guide them. This stage focuses more on the people than on the project, thus the team probably won’t perform at a high level, yet.

Storming

As the team begins to work together, they move into the Storming stage. This stage cannot be avoided as every team and especially a new one who has never worked together before, goes through this stage of growing as a team. In this stage, the team members compete with each other for status and acceptance of their ideas. They have different opinions on what should be done and how it should be done – which causes conflict within the team. As they progress through this stage, with the guidance of the team leader, they learn how to solve problems together, function both independently and together as a team, and settle into roles and responsibilities on the team. For team members who do not like conflict, this is a difficult stage to go through.

The team leader needs to be experienced at facilitating the team through this stage – ensuring the team members learn to listen to each other and respect their differences and ideas. This includes not allowing any one team member to control all conversations and facilitate contributions from all members of the team. The team leader will need to coach some team members to be more assertive and other team members on how to be more effective listeners.

This stage will come to a close when the team becomes more accepting of each other and learns how to work together for the good of the project. At this point, the team leader should start transitioning some decision making to the team to allow them more independence but still stay involved to resolve any conflicts as quickly as possible.

Some teams, however, do not move beyond this stage, and the entire project is spent in conflict, low morale and motivation, making it difficult to get the project completed. Usually, teams comprised of members who are professionally immature will have a difficult time getting past this stage.

Norming

When the team members move into the Norming stage, they are beginning to work more effectively as a team. They are no longer focused on their individual goals, but rather are focused on developing a way of working together. They respect each other’s opinions and value their differences. They begin to see the value in those differences on the team. Working together as a team seems more natural. In this stage, the team has agreed on their team rules for working together, how they will share information and resolve team conflict, and what tools and processes they will use to get the job done. The team members begin to trust each other and actively seek each other out for assistance and input. Rather than compete against each other, they are now helping each other to work toward a common goal. The team members also start to make significant progress on the project as they begin working together more effectively.

In this stage, the team leader may not be as involved in decision making and problem solving since the team members are working better together and can take on more responsibility. The team has greater self-direction and is able to resolve issues and conflict as a group. On occasion, however, the team leader may step in to move things along if the team gets stuck. The team leader should always ensure that the team members are working collaboratively and may begin to function as a coach to the members of the team.

Performing

In the Performing stage, teams are functioning at a very high level. The focus is on reaching the goal as a group. The team members have gotten to know each other, and they trust and rely on each other.

Not every team makes it to this level of team growth; some teams stop at Stage 3: Norming. The highly performing team functions without oversight and the members have become interdependent. The team is highly motivated to get the job done. They can make decisions and problem solve quickly and effectively. When they disagree, the team members can work through it and come to consensus without interrupting the project’s progress. If there needs to be a change in team processes, the team will come to agreement on changing processes on their own without reliance on the team leader.

In this stage, the team leader is not involved in decision making, problem solving, or other such activities involving the day-to-day work of the team. The team members work effectively as a group and do not need the oversight that is required at the other stages. The team leader will continue to monitor the progress of the team and celebrate milestone achievements with the team to continue to build team camaraderie. The team leader will also serve as the gateway when decisions need to be reached at a higher level within the organization.

Even in this stage, there is a possibility that the team may revert back to another stage. For example, it is possible for the team to revert back to the “storming” stage if one of the members starts working independently. Or, the team could revert back to the “forming” stage if a new member joins the team. If there are significant changes that throw a wrench into the works, it is possible for the team to revert back to an earlier stage until they are able to manage through the change.

Adjourning

In the Adjourning stage the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off into different directions. This stage looks at the team from the perspective of the well-being of the team rather than from the perspective of managing a team through the original four stages of team growth. The team leader should ensure that there is time for the team to celebrate the success of the project and capture best practices for future use. (Or, if it was not a successful project – to evaluate what happened and capture lessons learned for future projects.) This also provides the team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as they pursue their next endeavour.

Application

In progress

Limitations

In progress

References

In progress