What type of team has a well defined purpose is more or less permanent?

You can't just switch on teamwork. It takes time for a new team to "gel" and work to its full potential. What's more, team members go through stages as they move from strangers to co-workers.

Bruce Tuckman's Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing model describes these stages. When you understand Tuckman's model, you'll know how to help your new team to become effective – faster. Let's look at how.

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Where Does Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing Come From?

Psychologist Bruce Tuckman came up with the memorable phrase "forming, storming, norming, and performing" in his 1965 paper, "Developmental Sequence in Small Groups." [1] It describes the path that teams follow on their way to high performance. Later, he added a fifth stage, "adjourning" (also known as "mourning") to mark the end of a team's journey.

What Happens at Tuckman's Forming Stage?

In the beginning, when a new team forms, individuals will be unsure of the team's purpose, how they fit in, and whether they'll work well with one another. They may be anxious, curious, or excited to get going. However they feel, they'll be looking to the team leader for direction.

This may take some time, as people get to know their new colleagues and one another's ways of working.

What Did Tuckman Mean by Storming?

In the storming stage, people start to push against the established boundaries. Conflict or friction can also arise between team members as their true characters – and their preferred ways of working – surface and clash with other people's.

At this stage team members may challenge your authority or management style, or even the team's mission. Left unchecked, this can lead to face-to-face confrontations or simmering online tensions.

If roles and responsibilities aren't yet clear, individuals might begin to feel overwhelmed by their workload or frustrated at a lack of progress.

How Do I Recognize the Norming Stage?

Gradually, the team moves into the norming stage. People start to resolve their differences, appreciate one another's strengths, and respect your authority as a leader.

Now that they know one another better, your team members will feel more comfortable asking for help and offering constructive feedback. They'll share a stronger commitment to the team's goals, and they should make good progress toward it.

What Does the Performing Stage Look Like?

Now your team is in flow and performing to its full potential. With hard work and structured processes, the team is likely to achieve its goals efficiently.

Judith Stein, from MIT's HR department, says of this stage, "Roles on the team may have become more fluid, with members taking on various roles and responsibilities as needed. Differences among members are appreciated and used to enhance the team's performance." [2]

What About Tuckman's Adjourning (or Mourning) Stage?

Many teams reach this stage naturally. For example, projects come to an end, or permanent teams are disbanded and people redeployed.

People who like routine, or who have developed close working relationships with colleagues, may find this time difficult.

Using the Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing Tool

Follow the steps below to ensure that you're doing the right thing at the right time:

1. Identify the stage that your team is at from the descriptions above.
2. Consider what you need to do to move on to the next stage.
3. Schedule regular reviews of where your team is at, and adjust your behavior and leadership approach accordingly.

Tuckman's model isn't a one-way street – teams may go back and forth between stages. When you hit the performing stage, keep observing your team's progress in case it slips back. For example, a new team member can disrupt the group dynamic, or a new business direction might mean you have to reevaluate your team roles and goals.

Leading Through the Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing Stages

Quality Glossary Definition: Team

A team is defined as a group of people who perform interdependent tasks to work toward accomplishing a common mission or specific objective.

Some teams have a limited life: for example, a design team developing a new product, or a continuous process improvement team organized to solve a particular problem. Others are ongoing, such as a department team that meets regularly to review goals, activities, and performance.

An organization with many teams requires careful alignment. As teams and individuals link with other teams, the principles of developing understanding and trust will apply, but the structure will get more complex (Figure 1). Understanding the many interrelationships that exist between organizational units and processes, and the impact of these relationships on quality, productivity, and cost, makes the value of teams apparent.

Figure 1: Organizational Team Network

The Three Types of Teams

Many of today’s team concepts gained popularity in the United States during the 1970s through the use of quality circles or employee involvement initiatives. However, these initiatives were often seen as separate from normal work activities, not as integrated with them.

Team designs have since evolved into a broader concept that includes many types of teams formed for different purposes.

Three primary types of teams are typically used within the business environment:

Process Improvement Teams

Process improvement teams are project teams that focus on improving or developing specific business processes. These teams come together to achieve a specific goal, are guided by a well-defined project plan, and have a negotiated beginning and end.

Work Groups or Natural Teams

Work groups, sometimes called "natural teams," have responsibility for a particular process (e.g., a department, a product line, or a stage of a business process) and work together in a participative environment. The degree of authority and autonomy of the team can range from relatively limited to full self-management. The participative approach is based on the belief that employees will be more productive if they have a higher level of responsibility for their work.

Self-Managed Teams

Self-managed teams directly manage the day-to-day operation of their particular process or department. They are authorized to make decisions on a wide range of issues, such as safety, quality, maintenance, scheduling, and personnel. Their responsibilities also include processes traditionally held by managers, such as goal-setting, allocation of assignments, and conflict resolution.

The Value & Benefits of Teams

Team processes offer the following benefits to the organization:

• Synergistic process design or problem solving
• Objective analysis of problems or opportunities
• Promotion of cross-functional understanding
• Improved quality and productivity
• Greater innovation
• Reduced operating costs
• Increased commitment to organizational mission
• More flexible response to change
• Increased ownership and stewardship
• Reduced turnover and absenteeism

Individuals can gain the following benefits from teams:

• Enhanced problem-solving skills
• Increased knowledge of interpersonal dynamics
• Broader knowledge of business processes
• New skills for future leadership roles
• Increased quality of work life
• Feelings of satisfaction and commitment
• A sense of being part of something greater than what one could accomplish alone 

Reasons Why Teams Fail

Difficulty with teams is often blamed on a cultural emphasis in the United States on individual accomplishments versus shared responsibility and success. But problems are also caused by inadequate organizational support structures, reward systems, for example, often reinforce individual performance.

Numerous reasons have been noted for why teams often fail to reach their full potential. Among them are:

• Failure to integrate cooperative work methods into the organizational culture
• Lack of organizational systems necessary to support the team process
• Minimal upfront planning of how the organization plans to utilize teams
• Failure to prepare managers for their changing roles
• Failure to prepare team members for their new roles
• Inappropriate reward and compensation systems
• Inadequate training
• Impatience of top management with the time needed for maturation
• Incomplete understanding of group dynamics

Team REsources

Effective White-Collar Teams: The New Quality Imperative  The work of white-collar teams must be aligned with strategic and operational goals, individual and team responsibilities, protocols, and personal relationships.

Moving to a Team-Based Structure in Health Care  Voluntary Enterprises, Inc., a subsidiary of Community Hospitals Foundation in Indianapolis, changed from a traditional reporting structure to a team-based approach, creating an environment of ownership among the people responsible for doing the work.

Beyond Design: Implementing Effective Production Work Teams  Achieving sustainable performance gains following the introduction of production work teams depends upon the design and management of the implementation process.

Adapted from The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook, ASQ Press.