Group Development

Groups are a common arrangement in today’s business. Any manager who works with or supervises groups should be familiar with how they develop over time. Perhaps the best-known scheme for a group development was advanced by Bruce Tuckman in 1965. Initially, Tuckman identified four stages of group development, which included the stages of forming, storming, norming and performing. A fifth stage was later added by Tuckman about ten years later, which is called adjourning. It is believed that these stages are universal to all teams despite the group's members, purpose, goal, culture, location, demographics and so on.

Forming

The first stage of group development is known as the forming stage. The forming stage represents a time where the group is just starting to come together and is characterized with anxiety and uncertainty. Members are cautious with their behavior, which is driven by the desire to be accepted by all members of the group. Conflict, controversy and personal opinions are avoided even though members are beginning to form impressions of each other and gain an understanding of what the group will do together. Some believe this cautious behavior prevents the group from getting any real work done. However, the focus for group members during the forming stage is to become familiar with each other and their purpose, not on work.