Bruce Tuckman’s Group Development Model essay
Bruce Tuckman’s group development model has made a tremendous contribution to understanding team dynamics. The model recognizes five main stages of group foundation, which include forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Stein). However, Stein argues that team development might not follow a linear process depicted in Tuckman’s group development but can help teams understand behavioral changes and maximize their performance. The development model has shaped my leadership approach to the challenges facing a group; Supporting for Homeless Veterans (SHV) in Los Angeles. Insights on the specific attributes of every development stage help teams to evaluate their performance and take appropriate actions.
SHV has gone through forming and storming phases and is currently at the norming stage of group development. The preliminary phases were smooth due to the excitement and interest to serve the community, coupled with high expectations about the future. However, our plans and expectations have proved to be over-ambitious, and we are currently working to harmonize them with reality. During the forming phase of team development, we set our goals to include meeting for two hours every Saturday to facilitate the placement of at least three veterans under the homecare program every week. However, the targets proved unrealistic due to time constraints and schedule disputes between group members and social workers. Besides, some team members had started to withdraw from the community program citing poor performance; the typical attributes Tuckman’s group development model identifies in the storming stage.
Understanding the specific attributes of Tuckman’s group development model has been instrumental in resolving SHV performance challenges. The norming phase has abetted the group to set attainable targets and flexible schedules for smooth operations besides promoting positive relationships among members. Some of the changes that the group made include harmonizing its programs with the specific social workers and assigning responsibilities to all members as opposed to the few team leaders. SHV also reduced our homecare placement targets to four veterans each month. The group looks forward to evaluating its progress after one year of community service.