Project Team Development

Bruce Tuckman was an American Psychological researcher who specialised in group dynamics. One area he focused on was the formation of teams and during the mid-1960s developed a model that described the four stages of group development. The phases were Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.

Tuckman also hypothesized that it was critical that the team model phases were combined with interpersonal relationships and task activities. This was essential in forming a performing team that worked effectively as a group.

The four phases that Tuckman developed were:

Forming

In this phase there is a level of uncertainty from team members on what they need to do and how it aligns with the objectives of the organisation. The team needs to learn about the opportunities and challenges facing them and agree on the goals and tasks required to complete the project. Direction from the project manager is essential here. Their role is to provide clarity on the expectations and also provide a clear reason why the completion of this project is important.

Team members are usually polite and on their best behaviour during this stage. They are also usually motivated and enthusiastic. The project manager should take their time and allow team members to get to know their colleagues. This also allows the team members to determine how their colleagues work.

Storming

The second stage of team development has members jostling for position and working out where they fit in. Conflict may arise during this phase as power and status within the team is assigned. The leadership of the project manager may be challenged by members of the group as the hierarchy of position is still being worked through.

There can be a wide range of feelings during this phase including excitement and enthusiasm as well as fear and trepidation. The skill of the leader comes into play here as they need to identify the feelings of the team and determine how to best direct the team going forward. The project manager may provide clarity of the tasks of the group, outline the expected behaviours of team members and develop a complaints handling procedure.

Project managers should be accessible but be focused on providing guidance of decision making and professional behaviour. The project manager needs to emphasise the safe environment they are working in and that there is no judgement.

Norming

The team has now settled into a routine. Team members are clear on their roles and a greater spirit of co-operation emerges. The team will start to take on more responsibility and be actively trying to reach the goals and milestones that are set out. The personal working behaviours of their fellow members are now tolerated with the view on the bigger prize of hitting their targets.

The role of the project manager is now to facilitate the team and ensure that any problems are resolved quickly so that the team can continue to work toward their goals. There is often an overlap between the norming and storming phases. This can be common when new project processes or phases are entered.

Having led the team out of the storming phase previously the project manager should have the tools and skills to bring the team back into the norming phase in less time.

Performing

At this stage of the team’s development norms and roles are established. There is a level of harmony and team members are focused on achieving common goals and milestones. They are knowledgeable, motivated and competent and will often reach levels of success that they weren’t expecting.

Project managers and team leaders now need to get out of the way and only attend to bottle necks that may hamper the work. Not all teams are going to get to this stage with the norming phase being the most common level of team development. Think of it as a sports team that has just started winning championships. Will they stay at this level or fall back to being just another team in the competition?

Adjourning

In 1977 Tuckman joined with Mary Jensen and added a fifth element to the team development model which was adjourning.

Projects by nature have a finish date. This means that team members will leave the project team and move onto other projects or move back into the departments that they originally came from. There may be certain levels of anxiety as previous roles may have changed. The project manager or team leader needs to show supporting behaviours such as empathy and understanding.

Most importantly it is a time to celebrate the end of the project and the success that was achieved!