Tuckman's Theory

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This model was first developed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965. It is one of the more known team development theories and has formed the basis of many further ideas since its conception. Tuckman's theory focuses on the way in which a team tackles a task from the initial formation of the team through to the completion of the project. Tuckman later added a fifth phase; Adjourning and Transforming to cover the finishing of a task. Tuckman's theory is particularly relevant to team building challenges as the phases pertain to the completion of any task undertaken by a team. One of the very useful aspects of team building activities contained within a short period of time is that teams have an opportunity to observe their behaviour within a measurable time frame. Often teams are involved in projects at work lasting for months or years and it can be difficult to understand experiences in the context of a completed task. Forming The team is assembled and the task is allocated. Team members tend to behave independently and although goodwill may exist they do not know each other well enough to unconditionally trust one another. Time is spent planning, collecting information and bonding. Storming The team starts to address the task suggesting ideas. Different ideas may compete for ascendancy and if badly managed this phase can be very destructive for the team. Relationships between team members will be made or broken in this phase and some may never recover. In extreme cases the team can become stuck in the Storming phase. If a team is too focused on consensus they may decide on a plan which is less effective in completing the task for the sake of the team. This carries its own set of problems. It is essential that a team has strong facilitative leadership in this phase. Norming As the team moves out of the Storming phase they will enter the Norming phase. This tends

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