What does storming mean in team development?
Storming is the second phase in Tuckman’s group development model. It is the stage where the team members begin to voice their opinions, and is the stage where disagreement and even conflict can arise – hence the name ‘Storming’. It is in this stage that the different collaboration and conflict resolution styles in the team come out.
When I say conflict, usually it is disagreement, however in some cases arguments can arise in the team. For some team members, this will be uncomfortable, and for others it is necessary to assert themselves and establish their place in the team.
It is preceded by forming, the stage where the group is first formed, and the group members are learning how to work together.
What is a characteristic of the Storming stage?
Team members start to assert their role and status in the group. Some people have a desire to be seen as a leader in the group, or to be seen as having superior knowledge, and some people like to avoid the spotlight and do their work in the background.
Team members start to voice their opinion on what should be done, and also how it should be done, so the Storming stage involves debating, disagreement and even conflict between team members. At its worst it can also result in the forming of cliques or factions in the team.
What are the typical challenges in the Storming stage of Group Development?
Conflict resolution. Great outcomes and ideas don’t always come from a team that is always agreeing with each other. Ideas should be debated, challenged and tested. This might be uncomfortable for some people, but by testing ideas the team might improve on the idea, find a better idea, or find that the problem they set out to solve initially is not the true problem, only a symptom of the problem. If an idea is debated and contributed to by all team members, it is more likely that the team will feel ownership of it.
Why do teams experience the Storming stage?
Teams experience the storming stage of group development because it is a natural and essential stage of the team. Team members need to be able to voice their opinions on what to do, and how to do it. They need to be able to assert themselves and their position in the group. And importantly, team members need to learn how to discuss and debate as a group, and to be able to resolve disagreements and conflicts. The team will emerge much stronger and more effective.
How can a group progress successfully through storming?
Here are the steps you can take with your group to progress through the storming stage:
1. Help the team understand what they are going through.
Storming is a natural and important step in the development of the team, and it takes work from everyone in the team to progress through the stage, but when they do they will emerge as a much stronger and effective team.
2. Conflict resolution skills.
The development of conflict resolution and communication is an important outcome of this stage. Through this stage the team members will be tested. In terms of conflict resolution, the team will be tested in the handling of disagreements, and you will find some team members are comfortable with this, but those who like to avoid conflicts will be uncomfortable.
It is important for the team to know that it is a natural, normal phase for every team, and that it needs to happen so the team can move forward and work better together.
Here are some ideas or principles that can help the team develop conflict resolution skills:
- Criticise the idea, not the person.
- Acknowledge someone else ideas before challenging it.
- When respond to someone’s idea, use ‘Yes, and…”, instead of “Yes, but”.
- Paraphrase other people’s ideas to check that you understand them.
4. Hold one-on-one with the team members
Having one-on-one meeting with the team members helps you understand how each of the team members are feeling as the team goes through this stage, and help those feeling frustrated, concern, or intimidated. You can individually help those who need to learn to be more assertive, or those who need to approach discussions in a more constructive way.
5. Establish a team working agreement
A team working agreement is a set of principles and behaviours that the team agree to live to and work with as a team. It defines how the team will work together and treat each other. It can has simple statements like ‘Everyone must have their turn to speak’ to ‘Use yes, and… instead of yes, but…’. Everyone in the team is responsible for making sure they follow the agreement, and for making sure the others in the team follow the agreement. Over time, this leads to the team adopting behaviours that help them through their development, but especially in the Storming stage.
