stages of any group process. Throughout hundreds of different group and team experiences I have been part of and led over the last 3 decades I have seen elements of Tuckman's model play out time, and time again - virtually, in person, in groups and in teams. I've seen it play out in the jungles of South America, and the Canadian north. Where is the group or team at that you are working with right now?
Once teams and groups move through the storming stage, and they start to get their sense of where they are at, the team or group moves into the norming stage, then progressing into the performing stage, where really they can thrive and get things done. It is very common in today's world that teams will disband - projects will close off, locations may change, people may move. Tuckman's final stage of group and team development points us to the adjourning stage of any team process, where it's important to close off on the experience. This is a stage that is often overlooked - whether because we are rushing to move to the next experience, or there is simply too much to do to wrap things up.
Here's what I shared in my newest book, Effective Virtual Conversations, about the remaining stages of Tuckman's model - norming, performing and adjourning. Think about what you can do to support movement through these stages.
Stage: Norming - In
this stage we are exploring What? What’s acceptable? Who we are?
What’s
Important
·
Planning, roles
·
Figuring out how you really want to work
Virtual
Nuances
·
Individual norms and collective norms
·
Making explicit different roles, ways of
working, norms
·
Is there an evolution of new shared group/team
culture?
Considerations
·
How do we want to operate together?
Things
to Make Sure You are Doing
·
Building trust
·
Getting people into deeper dialogue with each
other
·
Using breakouts regularly
·
Clarifying roles and responsibilities
·
Deepening identity of the group
Activities
You May Want to Use
·
Values and behaviors
Stage: Performing - In
this stage we are exploring acceleration. What’s working? What will keep
momentum going?
What’s
Important
·
Getting the results in place
Virtual
Nuances
·
Participants will be performing in isolation
from others and could benefit from pause to look at what support they need
Considerations
·
Resourcing, roadblocks, enablers
·
Systems and structures that will sustain the
work
Things
to Make Sure You are Doing
·
Creating opportunities for reflective pause
·
Creating opportunity for people to share their
commitments and update each other in a way that does not just have to be a 30
second soundbyte
Activities
You May Want to Use
·
Keeping energy moving
·
Troubleshooting
·
Planning for celebration
·
Use the work (and structures) they are undertaking
Stage: Adjourning - In
this stage we are helping the group articulate
What’s
Important
·
Wrap up
·
Sustainability
·
Evaluation
Virtual
Nuances
·
Last time together
·
Application to local context
Considerations
·
Closure
·
Feedback
·
Evaluation
·
Lessons learned.
Things
to Make Sure You are Doing
·
How do you want to stay connected?
·
Where can you access the materials?
·
For how long can materials be accessed?
Activities
You May Want to Use
·
Spiders Web
·
Acknowledgement
·
Action Planning: One Page Plan and Commitments
·
Evaluation
·
Learning takeaways
(Excerpt: Pages 35-38, Effective Virtual Conversations, Jennifer Britton, 2017. All Rights Reserved)
If you haven't had a look at the first part of this two series blog post, check out part 1 here where I explore the Forming and Storming Stages and what they look like in the virtual space.
Best wishes,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2009), and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013) and Effective Virtual Conversations (2017)
Phone : 416-996-TEAM (8326)
Upcoming March and April 2018 programs include the 3 month Mentor Coaching Group (for ACC/PCC) starting Thursday March 8th at 12:15 pm Eastern, the Group Coaching Essentials program (8.75 CCEs) starting Friday March 2nd. Virtual Facilitation Essentials will start again on Friday April 6th (now approved for 8.5 CCEs) Grab your spot today. Our focus in March at the Learning Lab and Design Studio (Fridays 845 - 9:30 am ET) is on Building Your Toolkit, and will also include a half-day Virtual Retreat (Thurs March 8th)Author of Effective Group Coaching (2009), and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013) and Effective Virtual Conversations (2017)
Phone : 416-996-TEAM (8326)