3.2 Phases of Group Development

Groups may develop in five stages including forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977; Bonebright, 2010). Briefly, forming refers to why people join groups. For example, in the classroom students may join groups to learn about teamwork so they can develop teamwork skills. Another reason you might be drawn to a group is because you identify with its goals such as a particular student association on campus.

Storming includes both the initial anxiety caused when a person joins a new group as well as conflict arising due to perceived lack of productivity due to missed deadlines and/or when member roles are ill defined (Rothwell, 2018) . During the norming phase, group members establish and follow the rules of their group. The rules may be explicit or stated verbally and written down, or implicit or understood (Rothwell, 2018). When groups are in the performing stage, group members are actively working to complete the task of the group. Group members fulfil their own roles and support other members’ roles (Bonebright, 2010). Finally, some groups disband when the specific task is completed. This would be the adjourning phase. Most groups formed in a classroom setting adjourn when the semester ends.

Keep in mind groups do not always move through these phases in a linear fashion. For example, a group could skip the storming phase and go into norming phase where group members start to establish rules. Similarly, conflict may arise during norming or performing phases.

This group development model is popular among project teams in the United States, and it has also been applied to virtual teams. In addition, factors outside the group such as organizational resources and external stakeholders may impact the stages of development (Bonebright, 2010).