Tuckman's stages of group development

The forming–storming–norming–performing model of group development was first proposed by Bruce

Tuckman in 1965,[1] who said that these phases are all necessary and inevitable in order for the team to grow, face up
to challenges, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results.

Contents
Group Development
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Further developments
Adjourning, transforming and mourning
Norming and re-norming
John Fairhurst TPR model
Leadership strategies to facilitate successful team development
Swarming
See also
References
Further reading

Group Development

Forming
The team meets and learns about the opportunities and challenges, and then agrees on goals and begins to tackle the
tasks. Team members tend to behave quite independently. They may be motivated but are usually relatively
uninformed of the issues and objectives of the team. Team members are usually on their best behavior but very
focused on themselves. Mature team members begin to model appropriate behavior even at this early phase. The
meeting environment also plays an important role to model the initial behaviors of each individual. The major task
functions also concern orientation. Members attempt to become oriented to the tasks as well as to one another.
Discussion centers around defining the scope of the task, how to approach it, and similar concerns. To grow from this
stage to the next, each member must relinquish the comfort of non-threatening topics and risk the possibility of
conflict.

Storming
In this stage "...participants form opinions about the character and integrity of the other participants and feel
compelled to voice these opinions if they find someone shirking responsibility or attempting to dominate. Sometimes
participants question the actions or decision of the leader as the expedition grows harder...".[2] Disagreements and
personality clashes must be resolved before the team can progress out of this stage, and so some teams may never
emerge from "storming"[3] or re-enter that phase if new challenges or disputes arise.[4] In Tuckman's 1965 paper, only
50% of the studies identified a stage of intragroup conflict, and some of the remaining studies jumped directly from
stage 1 to stage 3.[5] Some groups may avoid the phase altogether, but for those who don't, the duration, intensity and
destructiveness of the "storms" can be varied. Tolerance of each team member and their differences should be
emphasized; without tolerance and patience the team will fail. This phase can become destructive to the team and will
lower motivation if allowed to get out of control. Some teams will never develop past this stage; however,
disagreements within the team can make members stronger, more versatile, and able to work more effectively as a
team. Supervisors of the team during this phase may be more accessible, but tend to remain directive in their guidance
of decision-making and professional behaviour. The team members will therefore resolve their differences and
members will be able to participate with one another more comfortably. The ideal is that they will not feel that they are
being judged, and will therefore share their opinions and views. Normally tension, struggle and sometimes arguments
occur. This stage can also be upsetting.

Norming
"Resolved disagreements and personality clashes result in greater intimacy, and a spirit of co-operation emerges."
[2] This happens when the team is aware of competition and they share a common goal. In this stage, all team members
take the responsibility and have the ambition to work for the success of the team's goals. They start tolerating the
whims and fancies of the other team members. They accept others as they are and make an effort to move on. The
danger here is that members may be so focused on preventing conflict that they are reluctant to share controversial
ideas.

Performing
"With group norms and roles established, group members focus on achieving common goals, often reaching an
unexpectedly high level of success."[6] By this time, they are motivated and knowledgeable. The team members are
now competent, autonomous and able to handle the decision-making process without supervision. Dissent is expected
and allowed as long as it is channelled through means acceptable to the team.

Supervisors of the team during this phase are almost always participating. The team will make most of the necessary
decisions. Even the most high-performing teams will revert to earlier stages in certain circumstances. Many long-
standing teams go through these cycles many times as they react to changing circumstances. For example, a change in
leadership may cause the team to revert to storming as the new people challenge the existing norms and dynamics of
the team.

Further developments

Adjourning, transforming and mourning

In 1977, Tuckman, jointly with Mary Ann Jensen, added a fifth stage to the four stages: adjourning,[7] that involves
completing the task and breaking up the team (in some texts referred to as Mourning).

Norming and re-norming

Timothy Biggs suggested that an additional stage be added of Norming after Forming and renaming the traditional
Norming stage Re-Norming. This addition is designed to reflect that there is a period after Forming where the
performance of a team gradually improves and the interference of a leader content with that level of performance will
prevent a team progressing through the Storming stage to true performance. This puts the emphasis back on the team
and leader as the Storming stage must be actively engaged in order to succeed – too many 'diplomats' or
'peacemakers,' especially in a leadership role, may prevent the team from reaching their full potential.
Rickards and Moger proposed a similar extension to the Tuckman model when a group breaks out of its norms
through a process of creative problem-solving.[8][9]

John Fairhurst TPR model

Alasdair A. K. White together with his colleague, John Fairhurst, examined Tuckman's development sequence when
developing the White-Fairhurst TPR Model. They simplify the sequence and group the Forming-Storming-Norming
stages together as the Transforming phase, which they equate with the initial performance level. This is then followed
by a Performing phase that leads to a new performance level which they call the Reforming phase. Their work was
developed further by White in his essay "From Comfort Zone to Performance Management"[10] in which he
demonstrates the linkage between Tuckman's work with that of Colin Carnall's "coping cycle" and the Comfort Zone
Theory.

Leadership strategies to facilitate successful team development

A healthcare research study "Maximizing Team Performance: The Critical Role of the Nurse Leader"[11] examined the
role of nursing leaders in facilitating the development of high performing Change teams using the Tuckman Model of
Group Development as a guiding framework. Using qualitative research techniques, these authors linked the team
development stages to leadership strategies, as well as identified keys to leader success. Below are some examples
from the article:

Leadership
Team Development Stage Keys to success
Strategies
- Purposefully picking the team
- Facilitate team to identify goals
Coordinating
Forming (Setting the stage)[11]
Behaviors - Ensure the team development of a
shared mental model

- Act as a resource person to the

team
Coaching - Develop mutual trust
Storming (Resolving conflict and tension)[11]
Behaviors
- Calm the work environment

- Get feedback from staff

- Allow for the transfer of leadership
Norming & Performing (Successfully implementing Empowering
and sustaining projects)[11] Behaviors - Set aside time for planning and
engaging the team

- Allow for flexibility in team roles

- Assist in the timing and selection of
Outperforming & Adjourning (Expanding initiative and Supporting new member
integrating new members)[11] Behaviors
- Create future leadership
opportunities

Swarming
In Agile software development, high-performance teams will exhibit a swarm behavior as they come together,
collaborate, and focus on solving a single problem. Swarming is sometimes referred to as Mob programming.

See also
Group development
Group dynamics
High-performance teams

References
1. Tuckman, Bruce W (1965). "Developmental sequence in small groups". Psychological Bulletin. 63 (6): 384–399.
doi:10.1037/h0022100 (https://doi.org/10.1037%2Fh0022100). PMID 14314073 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub
med/14314073).
2. Leadership the Outward Bound Way: Becoming a Better Leader in the Workplace By Outward Bound USA, Rob
Chatfield ISBN 9781594850332
3. "Archived copy" (http://study.com/academy/lesson/stages-of-group-development-forming-storming-forming-perfor
ming-adjourning.html). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20151030071749/http://study.com/academy/lesson/
stages-of-group-development-forming-storming-forming-performing-adjourning.html) from the original on 2015-10-
30. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
4. "Archived copy" (https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm). Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20151208091814/https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm) from the original on 2015-12-08.
Retrieved 2015-10-26.
5. Tuckman, Bruce (Spring 2001). "Developmental Sequence in Small Groups' " (http://openvce.net/sites/default/file
s/Tuckman1965DevelopmentalSequence.pdf) (PDF). Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal:
71–72. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20151129012409/http://openvce.net/sites/default/files/Tuckman196
5DevelopmentalSequence.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
6. Leadership the Outward Bound Way: Becoming a Better Leader in the Workplace By Outward Bound USA, Rob
Chatfield ISBN 9781594850332
7. The Five Stages of Project Team Development (http://www.pmhut.com/the-five-stages-of-project-team-developme
nt) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100518094430/http://www.pmhut.com/the-five-stages-of-project-team
-development) 2010-05-18 at the Wayback Machine., Gina Abudi – Retrieved May 18th 2010
8. Rickards, T., & Moger, S.T., (1999) Handbook for creative team leaders, Aldershot, Hants: Gower
9. Rickards, T., & Moger, S., (2000) ‘Creative leadership processes in project team development: An alternative to
Tuckman’s stage model’, British Journal of Management, Part 4, pp273-283
10. White A, From Comfort Zone to Performance Management, 2009, White & MacLean Publishing
11. Manges, Kirstin; Scott-Cawiezell, Jill; Ward, Marcia M. (2017-01-01). "Maximizing Team Performance: The Critical
Role of the Nurse Leader" (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nuf.12161/abstract). Nursing Forum. 52 (1):
21–29. doi:10.1111/nuf.12161 (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fnuf.12161). ISSN 1744-6198 (https://www.worldcat.org/i
ssn/1744-6198). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170324175216/http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.111
1/nuf.12161/abstract) from the original on 2017-03-24.

Further reading
Tuckman, Bruce (1965). "Developmental sequence in small groups" (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3954/i
s_200104/ai_n8943663). Psychological Bulletin. 63 (6): 384–99. doi:10.1037/h0022100 (https://doi.org/10.1037%
2Fh0022100). PMID 14314073 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14314073). Retrieved 2008-11-10.
"Reprinted with permission in Group Facilitation, Spring 2001"
White, Alasdair A. K. "From Comfort Zone to Performance Management" 2009 White & MacLean Publishing
ISBN 978-2-930583-01-3 [1] (http://www.whiteandmaclean.eu/from-comfort-zone-to-performance-management/)
Blanchard, Ken and Parisi-Carew, Eunice, The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams, William
Morrow, 2009.'
Manges, K., Scott‐Cawiezell, J., & Ward, M. M. (2016, May). Maximizing Team Performance: The Critical Role of
the Nurse Leader. In Nursing forum.
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