Tuckmans model for Team Development

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. . With his ideas, Tuckman set the basis for the research on group development and the related activities and processes.

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. 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 .

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.

Even though Tuckman’s model of group development certainly has evolved over time, it is still relevant today . 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.

Importance of Team Development

Team development plays an important role in the context of project management. The group development process is an interdisciplinary topic that, next to project management, involves psychology and other behavioural sciences. In 2015 Decuyper et. al described a clear relationship between team development and group learning. According to them, a team that evovles through the first stages can unlock synergies and has a better learning curve. Especially in the later phases of the development process, group can expect better results. This means that successful team development can be a major factor for the actual performance of the group. Project managers have a special role within the project team. They are responsible for their team and for the project. They "need to take a holistic view of their team’s products in order to plan, coordinate, and complete them."

Tuckman's basic Model

Bruce W. Tuckman introduced his model for group development in his article "Developmental Sequence in Small Groups" published in the Psychological Bulletin in 1965. The model consists of four stages that newly created groups tipically go through. The stages are called Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. All of those have certain characteristics, challenges and tasks. How well a group can manage these challenges can determine the success and the efficiency of the project. One of the main tasks of the project manager is to perform integration and manage complexity. Therefore, the project manager plays a vital role in this environment by guiding and leading the team throughout the stages.

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 members 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. Tuckman described this by identifying the "relevant parameters and the manner in which the group experience will be used to accomplish the task" (Tuckman, 1965, p. 386). He also reffered to the group structure as Testing and Dependance, which highlights the orientational character of this early phase. The expectations are typically high in the stage, because the team members have a positive mindset.

Storming

The second stage is called Storming. At this point in time, the first problems arrise within the group. Tuckman also labelled this phase as Intragroup Conflict. The key aspects are centered around personality issues and emotional responses. Team members usually take on different opinions about the future process of the group and develop personal issues. Typically, hierarchies develop within this phase as a natural process. The root cause of the ocurring problems lies partly within the uncertainty already described in phase 1. However, it is not only uncertainty about one's role in the project, but also the "progression into the unknown" as Tuckman describes it. The high degree of uncertainty and the discrepancy between self-awareness and role and task are also drivers of conflicts. Individuality and the pressure to change according to the tasks assigned can often result in anger and depression on an emotional level. Consequently, the performance is at a low point during Storming.

Norming

After the disharmony of the Storming, the team develops a sense of unity in Norming. Group Cohesion as it was called by Tuckman is reached by a common goal that the team members are persuing. In order to increase the performance and reach their objectives, the participants agree on norms and set up roles within the group. Personal discrepancies are put aside to ensure a succesful operation and therefore hostility displaces the perviously tense and emotional atmosphere. Opinions are exchanged, but alternative ideas are considered and evaluated without emotions to ensure a smooth execution of the project. Tuckman describes that "the group becomes a simulation of the family constellation". The performance level typically rises within the Norming as a result of the common understanding and harmony.

Performing

The last of Tuckman's initial four stages is called Performing and the group structure is characterized by Functional Role-Relatedness. The phase is best described as a mixture between functionality and professionality. The team members have found their roles within the group and execute them according to their individual tasks, which leads to improved performance. It is essential that the participants provide support for each other, especially in a professional, work-related level to help others sucesfully execute their jobs. Tuckman describes that "The group, which was established as an entity during the preceding phase, can now become a problem-solving instrument", which means that the team itself now becomes a tool for project management. The structure of the group is a performance-enhancing factor in which roles are defined, but flexible. The team members focus solely on the execution of the task without interpersonal dirsuptions.

Application

Since Tuckman’s model is more of a theory than a project management tool, there is no clear guide of application. However, some recommendations can be derived to ensure a successful team development process in practice. These application tipps include two levels: Group activities and the role of the project manager.

Forming: Team members in this stage have to explore and orientate. The main activity for project managers on a social level is to establish relationships with the single members and form a culture of acceptance and creativity in the group. They also need to identify professional strengths and skills of their team members in order to be able to assign tasks in the further process. As a leader the project manager has to set boundaries and create a professional atmosphere.

Storming: Team members typically respond emotionally in this stage, especially towards change and cristicism. This resistance against the team structure is normal in the development, but needs to be adressed. The project manager has therefore an important role in the Storming phase. He needs to show strong leadership and answer with posistivity to the emotional conflicts. Another part of his job is to match the people and their respective roles within the organization. This can already solve conflicts by setting responsibilities.

Norming: Team members are engaging in discussion and conversion within the Norming stage. This can be about oneself, the own role or the project in general. Project managers should seek to maintain the positivity in this stage and encourage their team members to form bonds and friendships, as well as increase communication and interaction. In case negative feelings or issues appear, the project manager should intervene immediately to ensure the success of the project.

Performing: The group members work towards their goal in this stage. The group activity is therefore to create insight, analyze the sitaution and the data and execute their given tasks. The project manager has to monitor the group and its performance in this phase, be aware of negative influences and otherwise try to reduce external influences. The team should execute the project naturally and with as few interventions as possible.

Limitations and Criticism

Even though Tuckman's model set the basis for decades of research about the development and formation of groups and teams, it has some limitations and weaknesses. Some of those were identified by Tuckman himself, others later on by other researchers and scientists.

In his publication of the model in 1965, Tuckman already mentiones several limitations and weaknesses. One of those was the observation that not all observed groups in the study experienced all of the stages or sometimes had more than the original 4. He concludes that environmental conditions influence the team development and can lead to adaptations in the model.

Another point of cristicism is brought up by Rickards and Moger in 2000, claiming that Tuckman's model is simplified and therefore can only be used as an idealization of team development. While the authors acknowledge the high amount of face validity of the model, they argue it lacks complexity throughout the phases and therefore does not suitable to describe real-life group development processes. In particular, they came up with two questions that Tuckman did not adress: "What if the storm stage never ends?" and "What is needed to exceed performance norms?".

Cassidy identified another issue in the Joumal of Experiential Education in 2006. In her research she identified that conflict can appear in various phases during the development process. While Tuckman assigned those disputes especially to the storming stage, Cassidy argued that conflict should not be defined in a single phase, but can be observed throughout the entire project life cycle.

Adaptations

Extended model (Adjourning)

In 1977 Bruce Tuckman reviewed his own model together with Mary Ann Conover Jensen, a doctoral candidate in counselling psychology. They analyzed additional literature regarding the model and the topic of group formation. They published their results under the title "Stages of Small-Group Development Revisited" in Group & Organization Studies in december 1977.

Tuckman and Jensen discovered that most literature supported the model. While at that time only one study had tested the model empirically (Runkel et al 1971), most researchers came to similar results and models or even used Tuckman's original. However, they noticed one discrepancy. In most studies the teams were experiencing an additional phase. They called the new stage Adjourning and characterized it similarly to the initial model.

The new phase is ocurring after the performance is about the seperation and the death of the group. Since projects have a fixed start and end, seperation is an issue for all project teams.

Creative Leadership Processes

In 2002, Susan Moger and Tudor Rickards evaluated existing team development models and their issues and challenges. They came to the conclusion that Tuckman's model is idealized and has some major weaknesses. However, Moger and Rickards used the Tuckman model as a basis to develop their own ideas and improve it. The main idea of the Creative Leadership model are two barriers that the initial model is missing: A weak behavioural after the storming stage and a strong performance barrier after the performance phase.

The first barrier is about interpersonal conflicts. In Tuckman's model, the team solves these issues that ocurr during the storming phase and moves on to a Norming, where a sense of unity develops. Moger and Rickards ask in their model: "What if the storm stage never ends?" While this is relatively easy to overcome, some groups might not be able to and therefore struggle with interpersonal conflicts throughout the project. All in all, most of the teams can pass this stage on move on to the Norming phase.

The second barrier is harder to overcome and is more about performance than emotions. This hurdle is harder to overcome than the first one and a large percentage of teams will not be able to achieve this. Braking through this barrier is about exceptional performance inspired by creativity that will lead to extraordinary results. This has several implications for project managers. Moger and Rickards suggest a variety of practices to implement as a project manager to foster creativity and therefore impriove results and pass the second barrier. These suggestions include implementing a Shared Vision, create a postitive climate in the group and encourage resilience amongst others.

The Punctuated-Tuckman

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 group 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)

Bonebright provides a very good and detailed overview of the history of the model and how it became a scientific standard. She also highlights the extension of the model, as well as limitations. In the later part of the article she gives more information about the additional research on the model and the topic.

Tudor Rickards & Susan Moger (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.