Blog about Leadership

This article builds on the article 4 Stages of Group Development.

On Monday, I shared the Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing Model of group development by Bruce Tuckman. This model is important for entrepreneurial and project teams; those teams that tend to form at about the same time rather than on a continual and incremental basis as day-to-day organizations.

The main problem is that too many teams try to avoid or mitigate what Bruce Tuckman identified as the Storming phase. It is in this phase that team relationships are formed and the team learns how to function as a unit. Those teams that mitigate or avoid the Storming phase tend not to be as innovative and tend to have more division than teams that do work through the Storming phase.

The Storming phase is difficult and tends to be uncomfortable in particular for those team members adverse to conflict. Conflict is not inherently bad. Conflict can be useful for developing a team, but conflict resolution is the key.

When conflict arises, the two best ways to resolve the conflict are confrontation and compromise. However, too often leaders try to smooth over the conflict, allow the team to withdraw, force them through without the investment of learning how to work as a team. While this may resolve the conflict is does nothing for developing the team and in the terms of Tuckman’s model, it doesn’t progress the team to the Norming and Performing phases.

So how does a leader lead the team to and through the Storming phase… use deadlines. Deadlines are great for setting objectives, setting goals, and progressing the team. Deadlines compel team members to work together, confront and compromise, to accomplish the goals for the deadline. Deadlines are a catalysts for group development and progressing the team from Forming to Storming and on to the greater achievements.

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Stepping back more than forty years ago to 1965 and we find a valuable model for group development introduced by a psychology researcher in group dynamics, Bruce Tuckman. Tuckman’s model, Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing, highlight the growth stages of a group or team. These evolutionary stages are the key blocks for building a team that performs with exceptional results.

Throughout the duration that the team operates, there may be many reiterations of the stages, but the concept is valuable to understand for day-to-day operations teams. It is CRITICAL for entrepreneurial endeavors and projects teams.

In this post, I am going to give an overview of this model, but in a post on Thursday, April 23rd, I am going to write about a key strategy for success in team development and what every leader should practice.

Forming

Obviously, forming is the beginning. “In the beginning,” there is an initiation of a team. Perhaps a charter is drafted and formal authority is given to a leader. The team may or may not have had clear objectives, but the idea is that in the forming stage the team comes together, gets to know each other, and begins to work together.

Storming

As time progresses, the team may face conflicts. The dynamics of personalities, leadership and management authority, and technical expertise will come to light with problems and issues that need be worked out before the team can progress.

Norming

After problems get worked out, the team becomes stronger. The team enters a period of normalcy. Team members understand each other and know how the team operates – the pecking order, the processes, how to interact and collaborate, etc.

Performing

The more the team works together, the better the team works. Efficiencies are developed. Expertise is improved. Innovation is commonplace.

This is when the success of a team is at the pinnacle. This is when team members break out the Champaign and celebrate what they create and produce. This is what every leader strives to lead the team to realize. This is the stage that every team hopes to achieve, but it is rarer that you may think.

Check back on Thursday, April 23rd, and I will share with you a key strategy in building a performing team.

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Conflicts

Conflicts rip through every team and wreak havoc on the unity and focus of team. It is critical to understand what causes conflicts and seek resolution as expeditiously and thoroughly as possible. The main cause of conflicts is personality. Sometimes, the personality conflicts are wrapped around viable issues like differences of opinion on how to best accomplish a task, what rules or regulations govern an operation, or what takes priority among multiple issues; too often conflicts are unresolved because of personalities rather than issues.

Here are 7 steps for resolving personality conflicts in the workplace:

1) Maintain friendliness:

Cordial and courteous actions and words are often all that is required to mitigate personality conflicts. Maintain a friendly environment and you may very well maintain a “personality conflict free” environment.

2) Keep it professional:

Professionalism is a pertinent factor to keep tempers and attitudes from getting out of control. The Type-A personality is a great person to have on the team, but the Type-A personality can cause problems if there isn’t a clear practice of professionalism.

3) Determine the source of problems:

When conflicts arise, do not dismiss them as matters of personality. Seek to resolve any and all underlying problems, differences of opinion, and genuine work issues. Focusing attention on problems that matter will unite the team and draw attention to teamwork.

4) Document conflicts:

When conflicts do arise, it is important to keep track of the problems to determine the depth and breadth of the issues that infect your workplace. Documentation can also be used to determine an underlying source of problems or avoidable trends in conflicts.

5) Keep relevant parties informed:

Conflicts should not be swept under the rug and hidden. Problems will haunt your team and infect your work; conflicts need to be resolved – this is the only way to maintain the unity and effectiveness of a team.

6) Don’t hesitate to take the issue higher:

Sometimes a team member may need to be laterally transferred in order to put personality issues in perspective. If properly managed, a personality conflict should never lead to firing a team member, but under some circumstance a lateral transfer may be the best answer. If you do not have the authority to transfer someone, take the issue to those with the authority. Keep in mind, proper documentation will probably be required in order to make the case, so go back to step number 4.

7) Keep it professional:

All in all, keep things professional. We are all different and this is the value of a team.

Leadership quote from William Wrigley:
“In business, when two people always agree, one of them is irrelevant.”

Conflicts, in and of themselves, are not problems, but rather contribute to the dynamism and viability of a team.

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