What Is Tuckman's Five Stages Of Team Development?

Starting a new team is a difficult task for management in the initial stages. Learning Tuckman’s five stages to group development is a great way to begin preparing your team for success. “Each stage of team development has its own recognizable feelings and behaviors; understanding why things are happening in certain ways on your team can be an important part of the self-evaluation process.” (Stein, J. (n.d.).) The stages are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. If management is lacking with the beginning stages, the group will suffer the consequences. The consequences could even include the project failing. Team leaders are responsible for getting the team “together”. A “meet and greet” is the best way to begin working
Management should give group members multiple ways to establish contact. Company email address, company phone numbers, and even software applications such as Skype would be excellent lines of communication.
Management should evaluate the skills of each member of the team before delegating the tasks to team members. Management should make sure group members are matched to the right task to maximize the success of the team. If group members do not hold the right skills for the task, it can discourage the member and risk failure for the group. Management’s job is far from finished though. The second stage, storming will begin. In the storming stage, tensions are high and management must handle conflict. Conflict can destroy the project if it is not handled properly. Rumors can arise and must be dealt with immediately. When possible, conflict should be contained to just the individuals involved. Management should express to all group members to come to them if there is a problem. There will be conflict, there is nothing that can keep conflict from
The group now handles most conflict on their own and work together more. However, management is never completely out of the scenario. Management should be keeping the group updated on the progress of the project and overall just be there when needed. Even though group members can see the progress they have made, it is also nice to hear from management the project is going as expected. A monthly or weekly email sent out to all group members would be an excellent way to send out an encouraging word to group members. If group members are given encouragement, they will work harder and more effectively on the