Youth Workin' It

Consultancy and Resources for Youth Workers and Organizations Worldwide

The Performing Stage of Group Development

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Performing stage of group development
Are the members of your youth group natural born performers?

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

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Norming stage of group development
No – it’s Storming and Norming, not Stormin’ Norman

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

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Storming stage of group development
This is what happens when you poke the bear (and not in a Facebook kind of way)

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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The Forming Stage Of Group Development In Youth Work

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Forming stage of group developmentWe’re currently exploring the five stages of group development as identified by Tuckman and Jensen (1977). Today, we’re looking at the Forming Stage – a time when the group gets to know one another, tests the boundaries (both within the rules and with the leadership) and becomes more dependent on one another.

Peter Barnes (2002:43) gives examples of what can be expected during the forming stage:

  • Considerable anxiety
  • Questions about the appropriateness of behavior
  • Polite communication
  • Minimal productivity

Here are some ways you can provide the support necessary to help your youth group move from the forming stage of group development towards more productive phases:

  • Give clear expectations – By going through your youth group’s hopes and fears, as well as clearly laying out the basics of what the group can expect from you and the youth work program, you will be able to help quell a lot of potential anxiety in the forming stage of group development
  • Identify ground rules through a group agreement – Take time and have the group identify what are some acceptable and unacceptable behaviors for their group
  • Provide a safe place for opposing opinions – This is also identified in the expectations and group agreement, but youth will feel more safe to move beyond ‘polite’ to ‘real’ when they know the boundaries for their views. By allowing youth to express their views in the forming stage of group development – even if they aren’t positive or mainstream – this will allow you to contradict incorrect information that young people may have internalized
  • Provide tasks that build confidence, understanding of team dynamics, roles and abilities – Take the time for team building activities and teach the group about team roles. You can also help them identify their learning styles and their individual intelligences. These activities will provide time for your team to bond during the forming stage and will develop relational capital that they can draw on when they begin to feel tension in the next stage

Doing all of these basic steps early on in the forming stage of group development will help lay the ground work for the next stage which we will explore next week: the Storming stage.

Question: What stories do you have from the forming stage of your youth group? Let us know in the comments below.

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Working with Youth – Group Development

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Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning - youth group development
If only they always got on this well!

Working with youth in a group can be both rewarding and challenging.

When youth work together in a group effectively, you can see some really great things happen. They can achieve more together than on their own, they can support each other through effective team work and they can build long lasting relationships.

Or, when youth work together in a group you can see things fall apart – fast. They can have trouble focusing their collective energies, they can decide that personal feelings or vendettas aren’t worth overcoming for the common good and they can fight and bicker until some young people stop coming to the youth group altogether.

Sometimes working with groups of youth it is a mixture of both. While you can work hard to facilitate team work and encourage relationships, each group development is different and they aren’t always going to get along like you wish they would. In fact, it’s almost guaranteed according to Tuckman (1965) that they won’t, at least for some of the time your group is together.

That’s why it’s important to recognize and understand the dynamics of youth group development. They don’t make every group experience rainbows and sunshine, but by understanding and recognizing the stages outlined by Tuckman and Jensen (1977 – see below), you can better understand where your group development is at. Also, teaching these phases to your youth you can help them become more self-aware group participants in the process.

The five stages of group development are:

  1. Forming stage – Early phase of the group meeting with one another
  2. Storming stage – Conflicts arise within the group as they get more comfortable with one another
  3. Norming stage – The group begins to work out their differences
  4. Performing stage – They work cohesively- getting things done and working together
  5. Adjourning stage – The group ends

Over the next few Wednesdays, we’ll go over these stages in greater detail so you can be better prepared when working with youth and identifying what stage of group development they’re at. We’ll also discuss ways you can help the youth in your program learn about Tuckman’s stages of group development. (n.b. use the links on the bullet point list above to read more about each of the stages).

Question: What is one of the biggest challenges of youth group development for you? Let us know in the comments below.

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