The Storming Puzzle: Six Principles

In my two most-recent posts (Dec 25 and Jan 1), I explored how to use Satir's Change Model (SCM) to understand Tuckman's developmental sequence in small groups (TDSSG). [Tuckman 1965] [Tuckman & Jensen 1977] These posts made a tacit assumption of orderly progress — that as a group develops, it moves through the stages of Tuckman's developmental sequence linearly and in order, beginning with the creation of the group. Nor could I find in Tuckman's work an explicit statement that he was or was not making an assumption of orderly progress. But in referring to his stages as a sequence, he does imply that small groups, over the course of their development, traverse the sequence in the order he describes.

Many have observed that this isn't the way things work in practice. Although the groups in the studies Tuckman used in his research probably did follow an ordered, linear development sequence, many groups in practice today cannot. They're subjected to external constraints and forces that compel them to traverse more complex trajectories, though they aren't free to hop around randomly among the Tuckman stages. In this post and the next, I provide six principles that capture the limitations on how groups large and small can move through the stages of Tuckman's model.

The importance of this limitation becomes clear when we consider how and why groups enter and exit the Storming stage.

Six principles of Tuckman stage transitions

At Norming is a challenging process
because the group must work together
to discover how to work togetherthis point the question about Storming has at least the beginnings of an answer. The essence of the question about Storming is this: "Can a group regress to a Storming stage after it has reached Norming or Performing?" The answer is "Possibly." And we can explain how this can happen within a framework of six principles governing stage transitions in TDSSG:

1. Forming Events follow every change in group or task. Following a change in group composition, or a change in group structure, or a change in task definition, a Forming event — whether planned or spontaneous — is inevitable. In practical terms, everyone in the group affected by the change must be informed of the change. They must make adjustments, which could require coordination and even collaboration with others.
2. Storming is the result of progress in Forming. As word of a change spreads through the group, members make adjustments. Some raise objections, because (a) they prefer the former arrangements, or (b) they've already completed some work that they must now revise or replace, or (c) they cannot accommodate the change for reasons beyond their control. Others seek to exploit the change to advance their own agendas. Some are just confused. Misinformation floats around. These are the main ingredients of the Storming that follows Forming Events. Storming can be chaotic.
3. Storming ends when the group reaches consensus about a new or revised set of norms. Until the group reaches a new consensus about how to work together, Storming continues. It gradually abates as the new consensus emerges. The new understanding of the task and the new norms must take into account the recent changes that precipitated this latest Forming Event. If the new norms don't serve that purpose, Storming continues (or resumes).
4. To devise or revise norms about working together, a group must enter a Norming stage. This can be a challenging process, because the group must work together to discover how to work together. Adopting norms by open consensus brings the last bits of Storming to an end, enabling work on task to resume (or begin).
5. Group consensus about norms is a prerequisite of high performance. Unless the group agrees to a set of norms for working together, debate about norms continues. After reaching consensus about norms, performance accelerates, pausing only occasionally to make minor adjustments revealed by Practice with the new ways of working.
6. Upon termination of work on the task, Adjourning takes place. Formal recognition of the termination of work might come in the form of administrative actions alone, such as filing a report or rescinding certain privileges. Celebrations might occur if the work has been successful. If not, grieving occurs, though grieving only rarely receives organizational support. If there are any group events associated with Adjourning, they might include retrospectives, whether or not the work has been successful.

In cases of task cancellation, Adjourning might be initiated during a Storming stage. Although these incidents are complicated, they're rare. A topic for another time.

Storming generally happens because achieving the objectives set in the Forming Event alters — or in some cases disrupts — the structures, relationships, and sense of purpose that served so well in the period before the most-recent Forming Event. For a newly formed group, I call that period Preforming. For an existing group, a change in membership actually creates a new group, while a change in task gives new purpose (or altered purpose) to the work lives of the group's members. Storming follows whenever we engage in Forming-related activities that disrupt the structures and purpose previously established in stages before the most-recent Forming Event.

An example

When we alter the task objectives for a group that has already reached the Performing stage, that group necessarily initiates a Forming Event, because the group needs to orient itself to the new changes. It might even be necessary to distribute some of the new work, or to redistribute some work previously distributed. If group members are added, introductions might be needed. After this Forming Event is completed, the group might enter a Storming stage, perhaps briefly, before it can revise its norms in a Norming stage, and then enter a revised Performing stage.

Examples of Storming stages can be difficult to identify. Storming might be invisible when group members elect to keep their resentments and anger private. Most professionals regard public emotional complaints as "unprofessional," and some cultures actually penalize group members for registering dissatisfaction with the decisions of others. Or Storming might appear to be continuous in task-oriented work groups in which subgrouping has occurred, if Storming in one or more subgroups is misidentified as Storming in the larger group.

Last words

The six principles above are sufficient for representing all transitions a task-oriented work group might make from one stage to another, provided we recognize that a Forming Event (a) isn't a stage and (b) can occur in a variety of forms, such as meetings, email, text messages, or Wikis. These properties of Forming can make Storming appear to be continuous. Next time I'll provide examples of applying these six principles to understand Tuckman stage transitions in specific situations .   First issue in this series    Next issue in this series   Top    Next Issue

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