Tuckman's Group Development - Youth Workin' It

Tuckman’s Group Development Model

September 12, 2012 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

It’s the start of the new school year, which often means changes in the make-up of youth groups. We therefore thought that this week’s Best Of Youth Workin’ It post should focus on Tuckman’s group development model, as it can help you and your youth work through these changes in your group.

1. Forming Stage Of Group Development – The first stage in Tuckman’s group development model is the Forming stage. This post explains what you can expect to happen – particularly in terms of youth behavior – and how to assist your young people in getting through this awkward time.

2. Storming Stage Of Group Development – The second part is the Storming stage – this is where young people will seek to poke the bear by testing boundaries. This can therefore be a critical stage in terms of your young people learning about your expectations of the group.

3. Norming Stage Of Group Development – The third stage is Norming, where your young people start becoming more comfortable with you and the other youth, thereby becoming more comfortable in the group as a whole. This can lead to its own challenges though (such as complacency), so this post looks at these areas and how to help the group continue to grow.

4. Performing Stage Of Group Development – The fourth stage of Tuckman’s group development model relates to Performing. As the name suggests, this is generally the most productive stage – youth have gelled, they’ve gained confidence in themselves and each other and are enjoying what they’re doing. This post explores this further, what else you can expect and how to prepare the youth for the final stage.

5. Adjourning Stage Of Group Development – The fifth and final stage is Adjourning. This is also known as mourning, as it relates to what happens when the group ends. At the start of the school year, you may find your groups in a mix of both forming and adjourning, so this post is worth reading to identify ways that you can help your young people (and yourself) through these changes.

Questions: What stage of Tuckman’s group development model are you in at the moment? What tips do you have for other youth workers on how to move through the stages?

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The Adjourning Stage of Group Development

April 4, 2012 By Shae Pepper Leave a Comment

Over the past five weeks, we’ve been exploring the stages of group development as identified by Tuckman and Jensen (1977). The fifth and final stage of group development – the adjourning stage (also known as the mourning stage) – is really more of an after-thought rather than an actual stage.

As discussed by Mark Smith of Infed.org, the initial stages of group development were identified as part of a functioning group, whereas the adjourning stage is really the end of a group.

A few things need to end during the adjourning stage of group development:

1) Tasks – Tie up all the loose ends for the project. Also, do any necessary monitoring and evaluation with the youth about the project and make sure that if they need to do any evaluation as part of their own project, they do that as well.

2) Group Roles – Spend time reflecting on what each youth enjoyed about their role and participation in the project. Help them identify areas where they could have developed their role further within the team or scaled back to allow others to participate more.

3) Group Dependency – While tying up tasks, completing evaluations and identifying areas for development, allow the group to do as many of these tasks as independently as possible. Allow them to form their own opinions about their learning and to feel a sense of personal accomplishment at the end – not just a feeling of achievement by being a part of the team.

Sometimes it’s not possible to end in the way you’d like if your project ends suddenly. Do the best you can in providing a final session for the youth to say their goodbyes and have some reflection time – this will help provide closure.

The worst-case scenario is that you will be unable to have a final session for any reason with your youth. If you have a forced and abrupt adjourning stage like this, write each youth a personal letter (if appropriate), providing the goodbye and closure that they may need.

If you are unable to contact the youth for any reason, encourage your manager or colleagues to hold a final session with the youth and help them reflect on their learning and have closure, even if you are unable to participate.

Because at the end of the day it’s about the youth, their group, their closure and their sense of well-being that’s important – that’s what the adjourning stage of group development is meant to achieve.

Check out our post about Tuckman’s Group Development Model for details of all five stages.

Questions: Did you learn anything new about yourself or your group during this series on group development? Would you like to see more posts like this? If so, what topics would you like explored regarding program administration? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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The Performing Stage of Group Development

March 28, 2012 By Shae Pepper Leave a Comment

We’re currently doing a five-week series on the stages of group development as outlined by Tuckman and Jensen (1977). We’ve discovered what happens when groups form, the tumultuous times that can happen when groups storm and how they balance out and norm. Today we’re going to explore the Performing Stage of group development.

According to Barnes (2002:43) you can identify a group in the performing stage by the following indicators:

The group is able to be task-focused instead of focusing on personal issues
They’re able to work effectively together and individually on tasks
The group has a leader and clearly defined roles and structure
They’re excited to work on tasks and exhibit pride in their work

The nice thing about working with a youth group in the performing stage is that they require less supervision. You’re able to answer questions and maybe offer ideas, but overall you don’t need to hold their hands any longer.

A group in the performing stage has probably been working together a while and have ‘come in to their own’ as a team. The leader is able to lead, the other members of the team are able to accomplish their tasks and, for the most part, everyone does this with minimal disruption to the overall goal and group.

When working with a youth group in the performing stage just remember…

1) Developing – You will need to continue developing their skills so that they don’t stagnate and end up back in the norming stage where there is minimal progress.

2) Changing – They will probably not stay in this ‘perfect’ place for very long. A new member may join the group and/or an older member may move on. This affects the group and causes the dynamics to revert to some of the earlier stages of group development. This is natural, so be prepared and prepare your group.

3) Ending – The group will end eventually. At some point the group will change, grow, move on and close. It may not happen right away but when it does, closure is important. We’ll talk about how to successfully close a youth group next week as we explore the final stage of group development – the Adjourning stage.

Question: What is your favorite part of the performing stage of youth group development? Has your group ever been an effective and functioning team? What did they accomplish? Share your experiences in the comments below.

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The Norming Stage Of Group Development

March 21, 2012 By Shae Pepper Leave a Comment

We’ve recently been looking at Tuckman’s stages of group development and how they affect your youth work – so far we’ve covered the Forming Stage and Storming Stage.

We’re now reaching the halfway point in the series. If we were a group, we might just be entering Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) Norming Stage. This is where your youth group is beginning to settle, the members are finding their purpose and some growth, learning or action is starting to happen.

According to Peter Barnes (2002:43) the Norming Stage is characterized by the following:

The group is more comfortable; depending on the group, this can also become complacency
They are openly exchanging ideas through communication
Group members may be ‘on eggshells’ to avoid a return to the Storming Stage
The group may be productive but it’s not always effective

After the rocky road of the Storming Stage, you might be looking forward to the Norming Stage. But be aware that simply because opinions aren’t polarized and the group is able to work together under common leadership and goals, it doesn’t mean they’re achieving all they could be. Barnes suggests the group needs group task focus and interdependence to become an effective team.

Here are some things you can try to move your group from just ‘Norming’ to ‘Performing’:

Give the group a challenge

While you don’t want to send them spiralling back into the conflict of the Storming Stage, you want to help your group avoid complacency. Remind them about their newly formed team roles and conflict resolution skills they learned during the Storming Stage of their group.

Give them a task or take them to an obstacle course that will solidify their team roles, bond them as a group and provide a measurable opportunity for productivity and success.

Praise and correct group communication

We’ve mentioned before that youth need praise – four to one ratios for positive feedback to correction, although some youth need a lot of praise, like eight positives for every correction you make. When your youth are communicating well, praise them. Tell them what they did right when talking to each other.

When your group isn’t communicating well in the Norming Stage, correct it immediately and explain what wasn’t so good about their communication. This will help reinforce good habits for communicating with others in a group.

Remind them of the group agreement

The group needs to remember that it’s a safe space to disagree and that they can do it in a appropriate way. They don’t need to fear the constant disagreements of the Storming Stage because they’re able to express themselves appropriately and are being corrected when they communicate inappropriately. This can be done easily through the use of a group agreement.

Don’t accept less than 100% from your group

Give your group motivation to grow, learn and produce outcomes as they work through tasks and challenges in the Norming Stage of group development. Don’t let them get by with ‘good enough’, but encourage them to do their best work at all times – this will help them accomplish more.

Using the praise and correction mentioned above effectively, along with rationales and explanations, will increase the productivity. The youth group will know what’s acceptable and unacceptable. They’ll be able to clearly understand what’s expected of them and rise to that challenge.

Use session evaluations to measure productivity

Use the session evaluation time to review what went well and areas for improvement. Just remember one thing: what’s 100% of what you can accomplish isn’t necessarily 100% of what everyone else can accomplish.

If the group worked well for the entire youth work session and didn’t complete the task, review if it was achievable in the time allotted (the A of SMART). If they played around and didn’t accomplish much, there needs to be reflection of that during the end of session evaluations so that productivity can be improved.

The Norming Stage of group development can provide much needed cohesion after the tumultuous time of the Storming Stage. But don’t let your group stay there. Help them feel safe, productive and positive, but challenge them so they can continue to move forward into the next phase – the Performing Stage of group development.

Q: What ways do you help your group ‘Norm’ after disagreements? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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The Storming Stage Of Group Development In Youth Work

March 14, 2012 By Shae Pepper Leave a Comment

Carrying on the series covering Tuckman’s theory of group development, we are now to the Storming Stage of group development as identified by Tuckman and Jensen (1977).

I would call this the stage where young people attempt to poke the bear. They question leadership and authority, look for clear direction and identified team roles and share opinions that may be conflicting.

Peter Barnes (2002:43) says some of the following things should be expected during the Storming stage of group development:

Opinions may become sharply divided
Leadership’s authority is questioned and/or challenged
Arguments become the primary method for communication
Several leaders will attempt to control the group

If you tried some of our suggestions during the Forming stage, you may find that your youth’s time in the Storming stage of youth group development isn’t as challenging as it might have been.

Each group is different though and the best plans don’t always happen the way you’d like in youth work. Here are a few suggestions to try during the Storming stage of group development that may help your youth move through to the next stage:

Take the time to encourage and explore differing opinions within the group. Use the group agreement you created earlier to provide the necessary boundaries for the discussion.
Be prepared to hand over some, most, or all of the leadership roles depending on the age, maturity and responsibilities of your youth by teaching them about the ladder of participation.
Encourage dialogue between group members and allow time and space when discussions get heated. Don’t force youth who are getting progressively more angry or aggressive to remain in the same room. Find activities for them to do in other areas, give a break time or allow a youth to step out of the room to get some air.
Identify the group’s strengths and weaknesses and assign team roles. Take the time to identify everyone’s strengths and have the group take part in the decision process when choosing a leader. If you have a youth who has leadership qualities but also has some serious areas of weakness like aggression management issues, find ways to encourage them to take another role within the team. This will ensure that the leader chosen is the best choice for the group, not just the most liked, most decisive or the most feared.

We will be talking more about team roles, group agreements and finding out about the learning styles and intelligences of your youth group in the coming weeks, so check back for more information on these topics.

The Storming Stage of group development in youth work can be a challenging period, but if you take the time to put the supportive measures in place during the Forming Stage, you’ll find it runs more smoothly than if you just ‘let nature take its course.’

Provide boundaries and a safe space for the disagreements that are likely to happen. Don’t be surprised or disappointed. Disagreements will happen. Remember that they are necessary for creating a more trusting, cohesive group that begins to work well together in the Norming Stage of Group Development, which we will discuss in detail next week.

Question: What stories do you have from the Storming Stage of your work with youth? Please share them in the comments below.

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