The Storming Puzzle: I

If you lead, manage, charter, fund, depend upon, or contribute to the work of a task-oriented work group, you're probably familiar with two of the most widely used models of organizational behavior. One is Tuckman's model of small group development, also known as "Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing." [Tuckman 1965] The other is Satir's Change Model, which describes the stages people go through when they experience change. [Satir, et al. 1991]

Applying Tuckman's model to modern task-oriented work groups can be tricky, especially with respect to considering the stage Tuckman called Storming. The subtleties have led some to propose that Storming isn't a real stage of small group development, while others have proposed that Storming happens throughout the other stages of small group development. [Knight 2006] [Knight 2007] [Cassidy 2007] [Norton 2017]

To explore this puzzle, we can To explore the puzzle of what Tuckman's
model predicts for the development
sequence of a modern task-oriented work
group, we can use Satir's Change Modeluse Satir's Change Model to examine what Tuckman's model predicts for the development sequence of a modern task-oriented work group. That examination reveals insights that can resolve some of the issues raised by Knight, Cassidy, Norton, and others. In this post and the next three I try to resolve this Storming Puzzle. This Part I outlines the plan of attack and includes a brief review of Satir's Change Model. In Part II I suggest the presence of mechanisms in modern work groups that explain the puzzling observations some have reported about Storming in task-oriented work groups. In Part III I offer a framework for understanding transitioning from stage to stage in Tuckman's model. Finally, in Part IV, I offer some examples of applying that framework.

About modern task-oriented work groups

One limitation of Tuckman's model, acknowledged from the outset by Tuckman, by Tuckman and Jensen, and by Bonebright, is the elevated risk of applying the model to some kinds of work groups. [Tuckman & Jensen 1977] [Bonebright 2010] The kind of work group in question is a variant of Tuckman's natural group setting, which many today would call a "task-oriented work group." [Forsyth 2010]

Briefly, these work groups are work groups that form for the purpose of executing a specific mission, such as constructing products, devices, documents, standards, or mechanisms. For more about task-oriented work groups, see "White Water Rafting as a Metaphor for Group Development," Point Lookout for December 4, 2024.

Satir's Change Model as a framework for examining Tuckman's model

To examine Tuckman's Development Sequence for Small Groups (TDSSG) I use Satir's Change Model (SCM) as a framework, because small group development clearly involves Change. In this I follow the guidance of McLendon. [Weinberg, McLendon & Weinberg 1999]

Numerous authors have described versions of SCM as having five, six, seven, or eight stages. Both the number of stages and the names of the stages vary, but since the fit between the model and reality is only approximate, every version of the model has some utility. The version I use here captures much of what you can find elsewhere. In what follows, and following Satir, I use the term system to refer to the entity that Tuckman would call a group.

Here it is:

This version has seven elements, including five stages and two events that facilitate stage transitions. The correspondence between these elements and Tuckman's model is my focus for next time. You can probably guess that Satir's Chaos stage corresponds to Tuckman's Storming, but much of the rest of the correspondence is both subtle and surprising.   Next issue in this series   Top    Next Issue

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More about Tuckman's sequence of small group development

Reaching Agreements in Technological Contexts  [December 7, 2022]

Reaching consensus in technological contexts presents special challenges. Problems can arise from interactions between the technological elements of the issue at hand, and the social dynamics of the group addressing that issue. Here are three examples.

The Politics of Forming Joint Leadership Teams  [January 4, 2023]

Some teams, business units, or enterprises are led not by individuals, but by joint leadership teams of two or more. They face special risks that arise from both the politics of the joint leadership team and the politics of the organization hosting it.

Tuckman's Model and Joint Leadership Teams  [January 18, 2023]

Tuckman's model of the stages of group development, applied to Joint Leadership Teams, reveals characteristics of these teams that signal performance levels less than we hope for. Knowing what to avoid when we designate these teams is therefore useful.

White Water Rafting as a Metaphor for Group Development  [December 4, 2024]

Tuckman's model of small group development, best known as "Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing," applies better to development of some groups than to others. We can use a metaphor to explore how the model applies to Storming in task-oriented work groups.

Subgrouping and Conway's Law  [December 18, 2024]

When task-oriented work groups address complex tasks, they might form subgroups to address subtasks. The structure of the subgroups and the order in which they form depend on the structure of the group's task and the sequencing of the subtasks.

The Storming Puzzle: II  [January 1, 2025]

For some task-oriented work groups, Tuckman's model of small group development doesn't seem to fit. Storming seems to be absent, or Storming never ends. To learn how this illusion forms, look closely at Satir's Change Model and at what we call a task-oriented work group.

The Storming Puzzle: Six Principles  [January 8, 2025]

For some task-oriented work groups, Tuckman's model of small group development seems not to fit. Storming seems to be either absent or continuous. To learn how this illusion forms, look closely at the processes that can precipitate episodes of Storming in task-oriented work groups.

The Storming Puzzle: Patterns and Antipatterns  [January 15, 2025]

Tuckman's model of small group development, best known as "Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing," applies to today's task-oriented work groups, if we understand the six principles that govern transitions from one stage to another. Here are some examples.

Storming: Obstacle or Pathway?  [January 22, 2025]

The Storming stage of Tuckman's model of small group development is widely misunderstood. Fighting the storms, denying they exist, or bypassing them doesn't work. Letting them blow themselves out in a somewhat-controlled manner is the path to Norming and Performing.

A Framework for Safe Storming  [January 29, 2025]

The Storming stage of Tuckman's development sequence for small groups is when the group explores its frustrations and degrees of disagreement about both structure and task. Only by understanding these misalignments is reaching alignment possible. Here is a framework for this exploration.

On Shaking Things Up  [February 5, 2025]

Newcomers to work groups have three tasks: to meet and get to know incumbent group members; to gain their trust; and to learn about the group's task and how to contribute to accomplishing it. General skills are necessary, but specifics are most important.

On Substituting for a Star  [February 12, 2025]

Newcomers to work groups have three tasks: to meet and get to know incumbent group members; to gain their trust; and to learn about the group's task and how to contribute to accomplishing it. All can be difficult; all are made even more difficult when the newcomer is substituting for a star.

Footnotes

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