So you want to be a leader… #5
How do groups form and perform? Use the Tuckman Model to help you!
One more model that will help leaders understand what is going on and how to act to improve their team’s performance is the Tuckman Model. This model complements the Six Domains of Leadership™ (SDL), Situational Leadership, Working Genius, and Wilson Social Styles in the leader’s toolkit. Of the five models, it is the only one focused on group behavior and performance.
I’ve written about the Tuckman model a few times, including a full article (“Helping a ‘Storming’ Team”) and references in other writings.
This previous article discusses the Tuckman model in good detail and connects the Six Domains of Leadership model to it, helping understand how the leader can leverage SDL as a team transitions from Forming to Storming.
Both of these models are extremely useful to leaders regardless of what stage a team is in.
How can you tell in which stage a team is in? An excellent article that lists observable behaviors, feelings and thoughts, team needs, and leadership required is West Chester University’s “Collaborative On-Line Research and Learning (CORAL): Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development”. While this article is focused on learning groups at the university, it has some great observations about each stage that leaders can leverage.
For example, in the Forming stage, it lists, among other items, the following observable behaviors, feelings and thoughts, team needs, and some of the leadership required. For the leadership required, I’ve included the corresponding SDL domains.
Forming
Observable Behaviors
- Politeness
- Tentative joining (IOW, no commitment)
- Orienting with others
- Avoid controversy
- Possible cliques forming
- Safety and approval
Feelings and Thoughts
- Excitement, optimism, anticipation
- Some suspicious, fearful, and anxious
- Wondering what is expected of them and why they have been invited
- Uncertainty and apprehension
Team Needs
- Mission and Vision
- Specific objectives and tasks
- Roles and responsibilities (who does what?)
Leadership Required
- Structure and task direction (Contextual and Supportive Leadership)
- Allow for get-acquainted time (Contextual Leadership)
- Create an atmosphere of confidence and optimism (Inspirational Leadership)
- Active involvement (Personal Leadership)
- Team members believe the leader can make decisions (Personal Leadership)
And I would add Personal Leadership in providing a Mission and Vision for the team
Similar lists are provided for the four other stages (Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning)
So, a leader with a team in the Forming stage, the first stage, can leverage these lists as they determine how to lead the team and get them through the various stages.
If it is not clear in what stage a team is in, the leader can use the Observable Behaviors provided for the various stages to help determine what stage the team is in. Remember, though, that it is never as crystal clear as a model makes it look like. Humans are not robots that act a certain way based on what stage they are in. Sometimes behaviors get mixed and the leader must adjust their leadership.
Conclusion
A leader’s knowledge of various models can help them be more effective. Not any one model is complete. Humans are too complex for any one model to capture all of the needed details and information (even AI will use multiple models as it analyzes situations. Not there yet).
Contact
Contact me at jose@coachsolera.com to find out how to improve your leadership.
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