Youth Workin' It

Consultancy and Resources for Youth Workers and Organizations Worldwide

Tuckman’s Group Development Model

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Tuckman's Group Development Model
Everything you need to know to help your youth get through the different stages of youth groups

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 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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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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