Storming: Obstacle or Pathway?

Dozens, maybe hundreds of white papers, workshops, and Web pages agree that the second stage of Tuckman's development sequence for small groups — the stage Tuckman called Storming — is painful. [Tuckman 1965] [Tuckman & Jensen 1977] Those resources assert that Storming stands in the way of the next two stages, Norming and Performing. They hold that with its focus on conflict, frustration, and disagreement, Storming prevents groups from getting work done. There are tips for getting through Storming, for leaving it behind as quickly as possible. For a brief review of Tuckman and Jensen's model, see "Tuckman's Model and Joint Leadership Teams," Point Lookout for January 18, 2023.

Examples of advice available:

• Refocus on goals
• Break goals into smaller achievable steps
• Develop conflict management skills
• Focus on collaborative process

The idea these advocates present seems to be that by getting the group to start Norming, we can end Storming and get on with the task. For them, Storming is a period of near-zero productive output that we must tolerate because, well, we must.

I see things differently. The Storming stage can be productive, but we must be careful about what we mean by productive. What Storming produces is a modified version of the group itself. This modified version of the group is one that can do what's needed in the Norming stage because the obstacles related to Storming have been cleared away.

The work Only by addressing the issues of
the Storming stage can the group
develop the foundation needed
for Norming and Performingwe do in the Storming stage is necessary and productive. Storming is the period when the group constructs the foundations necessary for producing the behavioral and professional norms and the group structure that it will need when it starts accomplishing its task first in the Norming stage and later in the Performing stage. Only by addressing the issues of the Storming stage can the group develop that foundation. Storming isn't an obstacle. Storming is the way forward.

An example of a tangle due to ineffective Storming

One tangle that ensnares some groups is trying to work towards a goal before the group agrees about what the goal is. In some cases, groups try to work towards a goal even before the group can agree about what the goal is.

Consider a project team that has intentionally abbreviated its time in the Storming stage. The sense among its leaders and managers had been something along the lines of, "Enough of this analysis-paralysis. We know what we need to know to make a start on our task. We can work out the final details along the way."

And that's how two subgroups — Subgroup A and Subgroup B — started building parts of what each subgroup surmised would be needed. But since Subgroup A's interpretation of the goal differed from Subgroup B's interpretation of the goal, their two efforts eventually reached a point of irreconcilable conflict. Partway through their work, the conflict between their two interpretations became clear. A debate erupted. They halted work until the larger group could decide — or until Management could decide — which of the two paths the group would follow. Since time is money, they made that critical decision under time pressure, and that caused them to overlook some important factors. More waste. More lost time.

The group could have avoided the waste and lost time if they had used the Storming stage to learn how to disagree constructively. The problem wasn't analysis-paralysis. It was instead an inability to conduct respectful debate — or even air differences — among people who hold contradictory opinions. This skill deficit prevented the group from exploring differences in enough detail to uncover ambiguities in descriptions of customer preferences.

The problem was that the group had tried to start working on task before they had properly exposed their differences in the Storming stage. And that prevented them from using the Norming stage to create a unified, cohesive approach to the task.

Statements of possible task goals

In the example above, the group could have made progress in goal clarification during the Storming stage. Setting specific goals is best left for the Norming stage, but the exercise of clearly stating differing views of possible goals is valuable for developing clarity during Storming. And that exercise is appropriate for Storming because it doesn't involve final priority decisions, which are better left for the Norming stage or later. More about this next time.

Last words

The Storming stage isn't a time for making decisions. It's a time for expressing doubts and frustrations and hearing others express theirs. It's a time for giving everyone permission to face squarely the problems that stand in the path to success. The group can do this by taking a problem inventory. Next time I'll provide the beginnings of a framework for taking that inventory.   Next issue in this series   Top    Next Issue

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Footnotes

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