Forming, Storming, Norming And Performing

The leader’s mistake would be to try to resolve all conflicts on their own. The storming stage must be passed as quickly as possible so that the negative consequences of conflict situations do not affect the Scaling monorepo maintenance project as a whole. This is one of the most stressful periods in the development of the team. Members know each other better and are starting to defend their place in the team and their point of view.

In the Performing stage, the team makes significant progress towards its goals. Commitment to the team’s mission is high and the competence of team members storming norming forming and performing is also high. Team members should continue to deepen their knowledge and skills, including working to continuously improving team development.

Renovating Teams

Once conflicts have been dealt with and overcome, the team enters the norming stage where a feeling of group cohesion develops. Team members now have learned to respect each other and have skills and abilities to resolve any disagreements. At this stage, the team leader builds on this unity and helps the team understand the team’ values and norms. It is possible for the leader to step away and only endorse the final decision of the team before its implementation, control based on a result and celebrate success. This stage is essential because people want more freedom in their decisions.

• In the “performing” stage, teams are functioning at a very high level.
• The initial feelings of excitement and the need to be polite have likely worn off.
• The more junior members – Donna and Sarah – have really developed their skills with the support and help of the others.
• Later, during the norming and performing stages, norms focus on relationships and levels of performance.
• Each time a team member leaves a team or a new member joins the team, the group development cycle starts back at forming.
• A group always goes through these four stages of team development to achieve maximum performance.
• Peter has put up the project schedule based on conversations with only Mohammed and Ameya on the team.

Sandra checks in with the team – praising them for their hard work and progress. When necessary, Sandra provides a link from the team to the executives for decisions that need to come from higher up or when additional support is needed. Additionally, the team members are helping each other to grow and develop their skills.

Join Our Team

The performing stage then occurs when the earlier stages progress and allow the team to start working together without friction towards achieving its goal. It is easy and enjoyable to work within a performing team, and people can come and go without damaging the broader performance of this mature and confident team set-up. This phase can last for a while as people begin to work together, start to learn about each other, get to know each other and start to understand the task ahead. Sandra had initially taken a side role during these exchanges, hoping that the team would work it out for themselves. However, she understands from past experience managing many project teams that it is important for her to take control and guide the team through this difficult time.

If effectively implemented, project management software allows a team to collaborate, communicate, and complete tasks efficiently. Compiled below is a list of just five project management tools to help your team better integrate and communicate. At this stage, the roles are distributed, and the schedule of meetings is agreed upon. Team members encounter difficulties associated with the transition from individual work to teamwork. As at any other stage, the most important thing is to set clear goals, deadlines, and standards, prioritize, provide resources, discuss all decisions with the team, and praise for small successes.

By Jesse Hanwit, Project Unite

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. This article provides background on each stage and an example of a team going through all five stages.

Signs And Questions To Look Out For In The Performing Stage

In the second stage, many team members can lose their initial positive attitude and drive. The leader has to set clear goals and explain the reason behind them, monitor the team regularly, but not too much, as well as prioritize and encourage an open resolution of the conflict in a team. Tuckman’s original work simply described the way he had observed groups evolve, whether they were conscious of it or not. In CORAL, the real value is in recognizing where a team is in the developmental stage process, and assisting the team to enter a stage consistent with the collaborative work put forth.

He must be an effective coach to enable the team to conquer challenges during this stage. During the storming phase, leaders must be actively involved in managing conflict for the phase to come to a successful resolution. When a team first comes together, it’s important to identify the boundaries of this new unit.

Forming, Storming, Norming And Performing

Scott M. Graffius developed a related custom illustration, Phases of Team Development, which he revises periodically. He released an updated version of the visual on January 4, 2021. This article features the new version of the Phases of Team Development illustration along with a brief overview of the characteristics and strategies for each phase. For teams who can problem solve and find storming norming forming and performing a way to complement each other, the smooth road of understanding and acceptance of the team dynamic is what’s around the corner. Depending on the personalities and experiences of its members, a team may be able to absorb new elements with less friction. Teams can move forward and backward in the group development cycle, and even remain stranded in a less developed stage (yikes!).

During the Forming stage of team development, team members are usually excited to be part of the team and eager about the work ahead. Members often have high positive expectations for the team experience. At the same time, they may also feel some anxiety, wondering how they will fit in to the team and if their performance will measure up. Each stage of team development has its own recognizable feelings and behaviors; understanding why things are happening in certain ways on your team can be an important part of the self-evaluation process. Once the forming stage begins to draw to a close and the team starts to mature, the storming phase begins. Think of this as the ‘teenage’ phase that follows the compliant ‘child’ phase of a new team!

Posted by: Jill Disis