Entering a new group is rather like an identity crisis because
you're never quite sure what your role is or how you're going to
fit in. How the group will work, communicate, allocate tasks,
share ideas, hold people accountable, handle the plurality of
viewpoints, make decisions and address conflict are all
unknown at this point. It's inevitable that each group member
will bring his own personality and past experiences to the table,
and each will have his own ideas about how the group should
work.
This means that there's a lot of groundwork to be done,
especially at the beginning of a group. People need to develop a
base level of group cohesion and build mutual trust before they
can focus on the team's goals. They need to allocate
responsibilities, open channels of communication and temper
some of the dominating voices that may override the rest of the
group. Ultimately, the group needs to find ways to be
productive together so the group can achieve more than the
members would on their own.00:0000:59
This process of group development happens naturally, although
some groups are more successful than others in learning how to
function effectively together. Many researchers believe that all
groups go through exactly the same group processes and
intergroup relations when growing to the point where it can
deliver quality results.
The Four Stages of Group Work Process
In 1965, the American psychologist Bruce Tuckman created a
four-phase model to describe how groups navigate the team-
building process and resolve conflicts constructively. This
model is known as Tuckman's stages or more often by the
names of its four distinct phases: forming, storming,
norming and performing.
In 1977, Tuckman added a fifth and final stage: adjourning.
The adjourning stage occurs when the team is dissolved, and
group members move on to other work in different teams.
Stage One: Forming
The forming stage covers the first days or week in the office
or on a new work team. The group members are getting to
know each other and are learning to orient themselves to the
group. Each person has her own ideas and expectations for the
team and may remain distant as she sizes up the others and the
project at hand. There will be some early discussion about the
project's goals and objectives and about each other. Some
members may contribute more than others at this stage.
Generally, everyone wants to be liked and accepted by the other
group members. People play nicely with each other in the
forming stage and try to make a good first impression.
However, they do not yet know each other well enough to focus
on productive work. They likely will need strong
guidance from a group leader to define the project and provide
clear direction regarding the team roles and responsibilities.
Without this early guidance, the team may never get off the
ground.
Stage Two: Storming
In stage two, the first storms arise. The group members know
each other better, and sympathies and personality clashes have
emerged. People start competing for team roles, for status and
for their ideas to be accepted. You start to see a pecking order
emerge as certain members jostle for the top spots on the team.
For the group members who do not tolerate conflict, this is a
difficult stage to go through. Nonetheless, it is inevitable.
While a good team leader can help the team learn to resolve
conflicts quickly and fearlessly, the members must do a lot of
the work on their own. Some people must learn to be more
assertive, while others must learn to hold back and listen more.
This stage will come to an end when the team becomes more
accepting of its individual members and starts transitioning
toward some effective decision making.
Sadly, some teams never make it past the storming stage. This
may be because the team composition is wrong, with too many
similar or conflicting personalities that cause the team to be
continually engaged in conflict.
Stage Three: Norming
As the team moves into the norming stage, a group identity
emerges. The team has developed a clear set of roles and
responsibilities, open lines of communication and its own rules
for coexistence. Conflicts may still pop up from time to time,
but the group has figured out a way to handle them
purposefully.
To outsiders, the group will finally look like a team. The
members are noticeably respectful of each other and are
focused on a common objective rather than pursuing their own
self-interests. The team leader may start to take a back seat at
this point, stepping in only when the team gets stuck.
Stage Four: Performing
With the groundwork laid and the wrinkles ironed out, the team
can now function at a very high level. The group is productive
and efficient, and the team members support and rely on each
other to achieve the group's objectives in the best way possible.
Business leaders want their teams to operate in the performing
stage for as long as possible.
Not every team makes it to this stage. Some will stop at stage
three, functioning reasonably well but not performing as highly
as it could be. A stage-four team is special because it is highly
motivated to get the job done. It no longer needs any external
assistance with problem solving or managing personal
relationships.
The difficulty is keeping a performing team in this state of
perfect balance. If a team member leaves and a new person
joins or if any other change throws a wrench in the works, then
the team could easily slip back into one of the earlier stages:
forming or storming. It's best to leave a performing team as
untouched as possible for as long as possible to get the best out
of the group.
Stage Five: Adjourning
In the context of group process and practice, adjourning occurs
when the project ends and the team is dissolved. The members
may meet for a final celebration to mark the success of the
project. They may share lessons learned and best practices for
future use. Ultimately, though, the team members will be
moving on to different teams and projects. They're looking for
closure before they all go their separate ways.
For teams that reached the performing stage, it's likely that the
team members will stay in touch with each other and may even
seek out opportunities to work together in the future. A
performing team is a very close-knit group. The focus shifts to
the individual experience at this stage since team members
may be feeling sad or even despondent as the group breaks up.
Adjourning is sometimes known as the mourning phase because
individuals feel a deep bereavement once the experience is
over.
FACTORS OF GROUP FORMATION
We can identify four major factors that influence our
decision to join and remain in a wide variety of groups:
attraction to members of the group; the activities, goals,
or the task of the group; affiliating with the people in
the group; and meeting needs or goals lying outside
the group.
Attraction to members of the group grows out of proximity
and frequency of interaction. (Consider your own
experience of friendship groups that are largely
determined by who is available for interaction: your
neighbours, classmates, roommates, and so on.)
However, we must remember that proximity creates only
the potential for, attraction; other factors usually come
into play when actually establishing a relationship. The
power of similarity, especially attitudinal similarity,
appears to be as strong in group formation as in
interpersonal attraction.
The task of a group, as experienced in its activities and
goals is often an important reason for joining. You join
a photography club because you enjoy taking pictures
and discussing that activity with others. You join a
protest group against higher tuition fees because you
cannot afford to pay more. In these examples, you are
gaining rewards directly through group membership.
The application of social exchange theory to group
formation predicts that we join and remain in groups
when the rewards for doing so outweigh the costs, thus
yielding profits.
The third general factor of group formation is our desire
to affiliate with the people in that group. We satisfy our
need for affiliation through interacting with people, just
as we meet our need for achievement through the
activities and goals of the group. Whether we affiliate
for social comparison, or to reduce anxiety, or to satisfy
an innate craving, it is clear that the group is a powerful
forum for meeting our basic social needs and a strong
influence on our behaviour.
Group membership may help us meet needs that lie
outside the group – thus, group membership may be a
stepping stone to achieve an external goal, rather than
a source of direct satisfaction. A college professor may
regularly attend meetings of a professional association
to enhance the probability of promotion. A candidate for
political office may join a host of community
organisations to enhance his or her chances for
election.
When we consider attraction to a group, we must also
consider the characteristics of the group itself. Several
attributes of groups generally make them more
attractive to prospective members and thus contribute
to group formation.
_ The more prestige a group can offer a member, the
more attractive the group. Members who have
positions of higher authority and prestige are
usually most attracted to remain in the group.
_ Co-operative relationships and joint rewards
heighten the attractiveness of a group, whereas
individual striving and competition detract from it.
_ The degree of positive interaction among members
directly affects attractiveness since it increases the
range of personal and social needs being met.
_ The size of the group affects its attraction. Smaller
groups generally offer more possibility for
interaction, for sharing similarities, and for meeting
individual needs, and therefore tend to be more
attractive.
_ Positive relations with other groups may add to the
prestige of the group and make it more attractive.
_ Nothing succeeds like success. Groups that are
perceived as meeting their goals effectively usually
appear to be more attractive.
Plausible Hypothesis about Group Formation
From the various factors influencing group formation
the following hypothesis can be confidently stated.
1) People join groups in order to satisfy some individual
need.
2) Proximity, contact and interaction provide an
opportunity for individuals to discover the need
satisfactions that can be attained through affiliation
with others.
3) Interpersonal attraction is a positive function of
physical attractiveness, attitude similarity,
personality similarity, economic similarity, racial
similarity, perceived ability of the other person (his
or her success or failure) and need compatibility.
4) An individual will join a group if he or she finds the
activities of the group attractive or rewarding.
5) An individual will join a group if he or she values
the goals of the group.
6) There exists a need for affiliation which renders
group membership rewarding.
7) An individual will join a group if he or she perceives
it to be instrumental in satisfying needs outside
the group.
8) Group development follows a consistent pattern,
which may be characterized as orientationevaluation-
control.
