Becoming a Team

Stages of team development are extremely important and a very natural way for teams to mature and grow. One of the most famous group development models is the Tuckman and Jensen model of five stages of group development. In this model Tuckman and Jenson argue that there are five stages of group development- forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Group progress from one stage to another naturally- they can go back and forth or skip stages along the way, so the model does not always progress in a completely linear way.

A couple of years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to serve as a Virginia State officer and was on a team with 8 other teammates. For an entire year we had the responsibility to serve the Virginia FFA Association across the state and nation. As I was reviewing the Tuckman and Jenson model my year as a state officer came flooding back and I started to clearly connect the stages of the model to different parts of my state officer year.

When we were first elected, we were clearly in the forming stage. We started out talking about our likes and dislikes and really trying to get to know one another. Then we jumped over the storming stage into norming and performing. We started establishing rules and setting forth expectations for the year so we were all on the same page. As we continued to establish our norms we started planning workshops, doing visits, going to conferences and such. Then when we attended National Convention we reverted back to the storming stage we had skipped. Tension rose within the team and people started getting frustrated and letting their disagreement with others actions and decisions show. Once that was all out we continued through cycles the entire year of performing and then storming. We would go for long periods of time really getting things accomplished and then we would spend a weekend together and the claws would come out again. However, I believe this cycle is what allowed us to be so productive and accomplish what we did. We started with a solid foundation and then developed our norms from there and our cycle of performing and storming made sure we were open and putting it all on the table in the best possible manner. Our year together ended as quickly as it began. A simple tap of the gavel dismissed us from our duties and the organization moved on with new leadership as we adjourned and turned our roles over to others. It was undoubtedly an incredible experience and I believe that year taught me more than I ever imagined possible. I can now look at models like the Tuckman and Jenson model among other leadership models, terms, and theories, and clearly make connections to a real- hand on experience of mine.