The Five Stages of Team Development

The most commonly used framework for a team's stages of development was developed in the mid-1960s by Bruce W. Tuckman, now a psychology professor at Ohio State University. Although many authors have written variations and enhancements to Tuckman's work, his descriptions of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing provide a useful framework for looking at your own team.
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.

The four stages are a helpful framework for recognizing a team's behavioral patterns; they are most useful as a basis for team conversation, rather than boxing the team into a "diagnosis." And just as human development is not always linear (think of the five-year old child who reverts to thumb-sucking when a new sibling is born), team development is not always a linear process. Having a way to identify and understand causes for changes in the team behaviors can help the team maximize its process and its productivity.

Team Development Stages

Teams typically progress through several developmental stages before reaching the point where task performance occurs--the performing stage. The stages that can be expected in team development are:

1. Forming
   Team members tend to feel dependent on the team leader for direction. During this initial stage, team members begin to “test the waters” to get to know one another. Some anxiety and uncertainty will occur about how the team will work together and how the team should approach the problem.
2. Storming
   Healthy group conflict and debate should occur during this stage. Team members struggle with the team task as well as the roles each member will play on the team. Openness and willingness to share ideas and hear from all team members is important. Some teams get stuck in this stage and it destroys the team.
3. Norming
   Team members, at this stage of development, should now feel secure about their roles and new focuse on distributing the workload. Team norms (rules) develop and communication continues to be important.
4. Performing
   The team is task focused during this critical stage. The leader often coordinates the team’s activities rather than "directs" it. Team members collaborate and openly communicate their progress on the task to other team members.
5. Termination
   Many teams come to an end and disband. This happens either when their work is completed or when the organization requires a change. While this “termination stage” was not part of Tuckman’s original model, it’s important for any team to pay attention to how it will close.

   During the “termination” stage, team members may feel a variety of conflicting feelings about the team’s break-up. Some may feel anxious about their future roles or sadness about ending their relationships. Also, at the same time, they may feel a sense of satisfaction with the accomplishments of the team. They may feel all of these feelings at the same time, or may cycle through the feelings one-by-one. Based on these conflicting feelings, individual and team morale may rise or fall throughout the ending stage.

   During this final stage, the team should focus on the following four “closure” tasks:
   1. Acknowledge the team’s impending dissolution. It’s recommended that the team discuss their feelings about the team’s break-up in order to achieve closure.
   2. Ensure that the team maintain their focus on completing any remaining tasks and deliverables
   3. Evaluate team’s process and final deliverables. Pay particular attention on identifying “lessons learned” and passing these on to the sponsor for future teams to use.
   4. Celebrate the team’s accomplishments and acknowledge the contributions of individuals.
      

Back to Consulting Services Overview