Group Development
Using Bruce Tuckman's Phases of Team Development
29 January 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
🔥 Scott M. Graffius released an updated version of his Phases of Team Development illustration. You can see it here.
Teams go through stages of development, and Bruce Tuckman established a popular framework on the subject. According to Tuckman, all phases—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—are necessary for the team to grow, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results. This article provides a brief overview of the model, including descriptions and strategies for each phase.
1. Forming
Characteristics of Forming include questioning, socializing, displaying eagerness, focusing on group identity and purpose, and sticking to safe topics. Strategies for this phase include taking the 'lead,' providing clear expectations and consistent instructions, and quick response times.
2. Storming
Traits of Storming include resistance, lack of participation, conflict, competition, high emotions, and moving towards group norms. Strategies for this stage include normalizing matters and encouraging leadership.
3. Norming
Features of Norming include reconciliation, relief, lowered anxiety, members are engaged and supportive, and developing cohesion. Strategies for this phase include recognizing individual and group efforts, providing learning opportunities and feedback, and monitoring the 'energy' of the group.
4. Performing
Characteristics of Performing include demonstrations of interdependence, healthy system, ability to effectively produce as a team, and balance of task and process orientation. Strategies for this stage include celebrating, 'guide from the side' (minimal intervention), encouraging group decision-making and problem-solving, and providing opportunities to share learning across teams.
5. Adjourning
Traits of Adjourning include a shift to process orientation, sadness, and recognition of team and individual efforts. Strategies for this phase include recognizing change, providing an opportunity for summative team evaluations, and providing an opportunity for acknowledgments.
The illustration summarizes the above information—and it shows how performance fluctuates as teams move through each phase. This information may be helpful for looking at your team.
High resolution versions of the Phases of Team Development image are available here (.jpg file) and here (.png file). Permission requests: contact the email address noted in the image.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
🔥 Scott M. Graffius released an updated version of his Phases of Team Development illustration. You can see it here.
Teams go through stages of development, and Bruce Tuckman established a popular framework on the subject. According to Tuckman, all phases—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—are necessary for the team to grow, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results. This article provides a brief overview of the model, including descriptions and strategies for each phase.
1. Forming
Characteristics of Forming include questioning, socializing, displaying eagerness, focusing on group identity and purpose, and sticking to safe topics. Strategies for this phase include taking the 'lead,' providing clear expectations and consistent instructions, and quick response times.
2. Storming
Traits of Storming include resistance, lack of participation, conflict, competition, high emotions, and moving towards group norms. Strategies for this stage include normalizing matters and encouraging leadership.
3. Norming
Features of Norming include reconciliation, relief, lowered anxiety, members are engaged and supportive, and developing cohesion. Strategies for this phase include recognizing individual and group efforts, providing learning opportunities and feedback, and monitoring the 'energy' of the group.
4. Performing
Characteristics of Performing include demonstrations of interdependence, healthy system, ability to effectively produce as a team, and balance of task and process orientation. Strategies for this stage include celebrating, 'guide from the side' (minimal intervention), encouraging group decision-making and problem-solving, and providing opportunities to share learning across teams.
5. Adjourning
Traits of Adjourning include a shift to process orientation, sadness, and recognition of team and individual efforts. Strategies for this phase include recognizing change, providing an opportunity for summative team evaluations, and providing an opportunity for acknowledgments.
The illustration summarizes the above information—and it shows how performance fluctuates as teams move through each phase. This information may be helpful for looking at your team.
High resolution versions of the Phases of Team Development image are available here (.jpg file) and here (.png file). Permission requests: contact the email address noted in the image.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking at Southern Nevada Chapter of Project Management Institute
11 January 2021
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius will deliver a talk — "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility" — at a virtual event of the Southern Nevada Chapter of the Project Management Institute on Thursday, March 18, 2021, from 5:00-6:00 p.m. Pacific Time. To learn more and to register for the event, visit https://pmi-snc.org/calendar?eventId=7586.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Southern Nevada Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute Southern Nevada Chapter's vision is to be the professional organization of choice for the project management community of Southern Nevada. Its mission is to Provide premier networking, education and presentations to support the needs of the project management community. And holds seven core values: Create an environment and opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and professionalism in the application of project management; foster and enabling corporate, community and educational networking opportunities; partner with business and academia to unleash the power of project management; attract, developing and retaining leadership to ensure the future of the organization; offer professional development unit (PDU) opportunities to members; offer programs to enhance members’ project management skills; and have nationally known speakers make presentations at monthly meetings at least twice a year. To learn more, visit the Chapter's website at https://pmi-snc.org.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius will deliver a talk — "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility" — at a virtual event of the Southern Nevada Chapter of the Project Management Institute on Thursday, March 18, 2021, from 5:00-6:00 p.m. Pacific Time. To learn more and to register for the event, visit https://pmi-snc.org/calendar?eventId=7586.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Southern Nevada Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute Southern Nevada Chapter's vision is to be the professional organization of choice for the project management community of Southern Nevada. Its mission is to Provide premier networking, education and presentations to support the needs of the project management community. And holds seven core values: Create an environment and opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and professionalism in the application of project management; foster and enabling corporate, community and educational networking opportunities; partner with business and academia to unleash the power of project management; attract, developing and retaining leadership to ensure the future of the organization; offer professional development unit (PDU) opportunities to members; offer programs to enhance members’ project management skills; and have nationally known speakers make presentations at monthly meetings at least twice a year. To learn more, visit the Chapter's website at https://pmi-snc.org.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking at California Institute of Advanced Management (CIAM)
12 January 2021
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius will be a guest speaker at the California Institute of Advanced Management, where he will deliver a talk on team development and leadership to an audience of MBA students and professors on March 13, 2021.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the California Institute of Advanced Management (CIAM)
The California Institute of Advanced Management (CIAM) is a non-profit, boutique university specializing in one single, revolutionary MBA program, designed to provide its students with "battle ready" business skills for today's ever-changing business world. Whether a student wants to be an entrepreneur, enhance their value to their existing employer, or transition to a new career, the CIAM's MBA program will help get them where they want to go. To learn more, visit CIAM's website at https://www.ciam.edu.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius will be a guest speaker at the California Institute of Advanced Management, where he will deliver a talk on team development and leadership to an audience of MBA students and professors on March 13, 2021.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the California Institute of Advanced Management (CIAM)
The California Institute of Advanced Management (CIAM) is a non-profit, boutique university specializing in one single, revolutionary MBA program, designed to provide its students with "battle ready" business skills for today's ever-changing business world. Whether a student wants to be an entrepreneur, enhance their value to their existing employer, or transition to a new career, the CIAM's MBA program will help get them where they want to go. To learn more, visit CIAM's website at https://www.ciam.edu.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking at ConFoo Developer Conference 2021
18 January 2021
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius will be speaking at the ConFoo Developer Conference 2021. The annual event is normally conducted in-person in Montreal, Québec, Canada. This year, ConFoo will be online. Scott will present “But First, the Team!” on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, from 3:15-4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.75 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 0.75 professional development unit (PDU), under the Technical Project Management category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 0.75 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the ConFoo Developer Conference
ConFoo is a multi-technology conference for development professionals. It features a stellar lineup of renown international speakers, new, innovative and surprising topics, and networking opportunities. The annual event is normally conducted in-person in Montreal, Québec, Canada. In 2021, ConFoo will be entirely online. To learn more and register for the conference, visit https://confoo.ca/en.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius will be speaking at the ConFoo Developer Conference 2021. The annual event is normally conducted in-person in Montreal, Québec, Canada. This year, ConFoo will be online. Scott will present “But First, the Team!” on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, from 3:15-4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
- Scott's profile on ConFoo website: https://confoo.ca/en/speaker/scott-graffius
- Scott's session on ConFoo website: https://confoo.ca/en/yul2021/session/but-first-the-team
- Register for the ConFoo conference: https://confoo.ca/en/yul2021/register
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 0.75 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 0.75 professional development unit (PDU), under the Technical Project Management category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 0.75 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the ConFoo Developer Conference
ConFoo is a multi-technology conference for development professionals. It features a stellar lineup of renown international speakers, new, innovative and surprising topics, and networking opportunities. The annual event is normally conducted in-person in Montreal, Québec, Canada. In 2021, ConFoo will be entirely online. To learn more and register for the conference, visit https://confoo.ca/en.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking at Finland Chapter of Project Management Institute
31 January 2021
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius will deliver a talk on navigating the five phases of team development — Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning — with speed and agility to an audience of project management professionals at an event of the Finland Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Everyone is welcome to attend the session. Eastern European Time: It will be conducted from 9:00-11:00 a.m. EET on February 26, 2021. Pacific Time: 11:00 p.m. PT on February 25, 2021, through 1:00 a.m. PT on February 26, 2021. To learn more and to register for the event, visit https://pmifinland.org/event/online-brt-navigate-the-phases-of-team-development-with-speed-and-agility/.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Finland Chapter of the Project Management Institute
Chartered by the Project Management Institute in 2005, the Finland Chapter is geographically divided into three areas — Helsinki, Tampere, and Vaasa — and each is run by volunteers. The Chapter's vision is to achieve optimal and sustainable change in our society by organizations embracing and appreciating projects as a form of work, and it's mission is to create the conditions for successful and sustainable projects and establish project management as a profession. To learn more, visit the Chapter's website at https://pmifinland.org.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius will deliver a talk on navigating the five phases of team development — Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning — with speed and agility to an audience of project management professionals at an event of the Finland Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Everyone is welcome to attend the session. Eastern European Time: It will be conducted from 9:00-11:00 a.m. EET on February 26, 2021. Pacific Time: 11:00 p.m. PT on February 25, 2021, through 1:00 a.m. PT on February 26, 2021. To learn more and to register for the event, visit https://pmifinland.org/event/online-brt-navigate-the-phases-of-team-development-with-speed-and-agility/.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Finland Chapter of the Project Management Institute
Chartered by the Project Management Institute in 2005, the Finland Chapter is geographically divided into three areas — Helsinki, Tampere, and Vaasa — and each is run by volunteers. The Chapter's vision is to achieve optimal and sustainable change in our society by organizations embracing and appreciating projects as a form of work, and it's mission is to create the conditions for successful and sustainable projects and establish project management as a profession. To learn more, visit the Chapter's website at https://pmifinland.org.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking on Successfully Navigating the Phases of Team Development at New Zealand Chapter of Project Management Institute
03 February 2021
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius will present "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility" at a virtual event of the New Zealand Chapter of the Project Management Institute. New Zealand Time: March 24, 2021, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. NZT. Pacific Time: March 23, 2021, from 11:00 p.m. to midnight PT. The event is open to everyone and tickets are free. To learn more and to register for the event, visit https://pmi.org.nz/monthly-calendar/general-events/navigate-the-phases-of-team-development-with-speed-and-agility.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the New Zealand Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The New Zealand Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMINZ) was formed in 1993. It is a non-profit organization and it serves to advance the practice, science, and profession of project management in a conscious and proactive manner. The PMINZ is made up of nine branches: Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatū-Whanganui, Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. The PMINZ and its branches provides services to members such as networking, professional development opportunities, and educational support. To learn more about the PMINZ, visit its website at https://pmi.org.nz.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius will present "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility" at a virtual event of the New Zealand Chapter of the Project Management Institute. New Zealand Time: March 24, 2021, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. NZT. Pacific Time: March 23, 2021, from 11:00 p.m. to midnight PT. The event is open to everyone and tickets are free. To learn more and to register for the event, visit https://pmi.org.nz/monthly-calendar/general-events/navigate-the-phases-of-team-development-with-speed-and-agility.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the New Zealand Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The New Zealand Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMINZ) was formed in 1993. It is a non-profit organization and it serves to advance the practice, science, and profession of project management in a conscious and proactive manner. The PMINZ is made up of nine branches: Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatū-Whanganui, Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. The PMINZ and its branches provides services to members such as networking, professional development opportunities, and educational support. To learn more about the PMINZ, visit its website at https://pmi.org.nz.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking on Navigating the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility at Luxembourg Chapter of the Project Management Institute
06 April 2021
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius will present a talk on team development and leadership, "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility," at a virtual event of the Luxembourg Chapter of the Project Management Institute on April 29, 2021, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Luxembourg Time. The event is free. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/navigate-the-phases-of-team-development-with-speed-and-agility-tickets-145329738159.
About "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility"
Perhaps you’re heard about the phases of team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. But are you aware of the unique behaviors specific to each phase? What exactly should you do during each phase to help the team (agile or otherwise) tackle challenges, make progress, and become successful? If you are a leader (or aspire to be one), a member of a team (or may be in one in the future), or are just looking to develop your skills, this talk (based on Bruce Tuckman's model, but with a fresh angle: 0% theory, 100% real-world-based) will give you a practical framework with actionable tips for working in and leading teams successfully. You'll learn about the five phases — Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning — including detailed descriptions of each along with proven strategies for addressing challenges or issues which may occur along the way. You'll understand how to use the model to your advantage by effectively navigating all of the phases with speed and agility, from team set-up to the after-party!
The presentation draws on Scott’s first-hand, real-world experience, with his guidance supported by additional research, recommendations, and coverage from the Project Management Institute, IEEE, MIT, Harvard Business Review, and others.
This talk will help attendees develop and enhance the contributions they make to their organizations by being able to:
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Luxembourg Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The Luxembourg Chapter of the Project Management Institute is a non-profit corporation chartered by the Project Management Institute, and is dedicated to advancing the practice, science, and profession of project management in a conscious and proactive manner. Its proposes include the following:
To learn more about the Chapter, visit its website at https://pmi.lu.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius will present a talk on team development and leadership, "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility," at a virtual event of the Luxembourg Chapter of the Project Management Institute on April 29, 2021, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Luxembourg Time. The event is free. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/navigate-the-phases-of-team-development-with-speed-and-agility-tickets-145329738159.
About "Navigate the Phases of Team Development with Speed and Agility"
Perhaps you’re heard about the phases of team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. But are you aware of the unique behaviors specific to each phase? What exactly should you do during each phase to help the team (agile or otherwise) tackle challenges, make progress, and become successful? If you are a leader (or aspire to be one), a member of a team (or may be in one in the future), or are just looking to develop your skills, this talk (based on Bruce Tuckman's model, but with a fresh angle: 0% theory, 100% real-world-based) will give you a practical framework with actionable tips for working in and leading teams successfully. You'll learn about the five phases — Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning — including detailed descriptions of each along with proven strategies for addressing challenges or issues which may occur along the way. You'll understand how to use the model to your advantage by effectively navigating all of the phases with speed and agility, from team set-up to the after-party!
The presentation draws on Scott’s first-hand, real-world experience, with his guidance supported by additional research, recommendations, and coverage from the Project Management Institute, IEEE, MIT, Harvard Business Review, and others.
This talk will help attendees develop and enhance the contributions they make to their organizations by being able to:
- Understand the five stages of team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning.
- Learn the characteristics of each phase.
- Apply proven strategies to help handle challenges or issues experienced by the team. By doing so, they’ll advance the team’s success.
Attendees may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to 1.00 hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it's 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it's 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Luxembourg Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The Luxembourg Chapter of the Project Management Institute is a non-profit corporation chartered by the Project Management Institute, and is dedicated to advancing the practice, science, and profession of project management in a conscious and proactive manner. Its proposes include the following:
- To foster professionalism in the management of projects.
- To contribute to the quality and scope of project management.
- To stimulate appropriate global application of project management for the benefit of the general public.
- To provide a recognized forum for the free exchange of ideas, applications, and solutions to project management issues among its members, and other interested and involved in project management.
- To identify and promote the fundamentals of project management and advance the body of knowledge for managing projects successfully.
- To identify the specifics of the regional context and promote the specific learning opportunities arising from this context for project managers.
To learn more about the Chapter, visit its website at https://pmi.lu.
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
The Spanish Version of the 'Phases of Team Development' -- 'Fases del Desarrollo del Equipo' -- Now Available
19 October 2021
Citation for Spanish version: Graffius, Scott M. (2021). Fases del Desarrollo del Equipo. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.13140/RG.2.2.28150.93765. DOI link: https://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.28150.93765.
Citation for English version: Graffius, Scott M. (2021). Phases of Team Development. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.13140/RG.2.2.22040.42246. DOI link: https://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.22040.42246.
For permission requests and high resolution images, see below.
Phases of Team Development
Teams go through phases of development, and Dr. Bruce Tuckman established a popular and durable framework on the subject. According to Dr. Tuckman, all phases—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—are necessary for teams to grow, tackle problems, find solutions, plan work, and deliver results.
Agile project management thought leader, influencer, and author Scott M. Graffius developed a related custom illustration, Phases of Team Development. It highlights the performance level, characteristics, and proven strategies for each of the phases. Project Managers, Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, DevOps Leads, and other professionals can apply the information to help handle challenges or issues experienced by teams. By doing so, they’ll advance the teams' happiness and productivity, as well as the teams' (and their own) success. Graffius updates the content periodically.
He released a new version of the visual on January 4, 2021. A related article covers the update, bibliography, permission requests, and high-resolution downloadable files of the English version of the visual.
The Spanish version is covered next.
Downloadable High-Resolution Files of 'Phases of Team Development' Illustration in Spanish
High resolution images of the Fases del Desarrollo del Equipo (Formación, Turbulencia, Normalización, Desempeño, y Disolución) are available at the following links: here for the JPG file and here for the PNG file. For permission requests, contact the email address noted in the image.
Note: Some Spanish-language publications use different words for some of the phases. For example, 'Storming' is translated as 'Turbulencia' — but 'Conflicto' or other alternatives are occasionally used instead.* This article and the related Fases del Desarrollo del Equipo illustration incorporate the selections for phases referenced in the Spanish version of the Project Management Institute's A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. The five phases in Spanish are: Formación, Turbulencia, Normalización, Desempeño, y Disolución.
For information on the English version of the Phases of Team Development, visit here.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over one billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
Connect with Scott on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
* As covered above, the five phases in Spanish are: Formación, Turbulencia, Normalización, Desempeño, y Disolución. Alternatives occasionally used by others follow—in italics:
- Formación (some alternatives used by others include: Constitución, Formando, and Estableciendo)
- Turbulencia (some alternatives used by others include: Conflicto, Confrontación, Enfrentamiento, Asalt, and Asalto)
- Normalización (some alternatives used by others include: Normativa, Normativo, Normación, Normas, and Normar)
- Desempeño (some alternatives used by others include: Ejecución, Rendimiento, Actuación, and Actuar)
- Disolución (some alternatives used by others include: Clausura, Aplazamiento, Finalización, Terminación, and Suspender)
The short URL for this article is: https://bit.ly/esp-1
Posts related to this article are on ResearchGate, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
© Copyright 2021 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Bruce Tuckman’s Model (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning) is Highly Relevant and Beneficial, But It Doesn’t Please Everyone
08 November 2021
🔥 Note: Details on the Phases of Team Development visual are here. Details on the Spanish version are here.
Names and certain identifying details are not included or are redacted (replaced with black rectangles) to respect privacy.
The Question
Steve Jobs famously said “You can please some of the people some of the time” in response to a tough question at the 1997 Worldwide Developer Conference. The following experience reminded me of that quote.
In a recent workshop on team leadership, a student asked me, “What do you think about █████████’s disregard of Tuckman’s model?” (Note: The student was referring to a person who's an expert in agile and Scrum. The expert's name is redacted, subsequently referred to as “critic.” His or her stance seems to be the rare exception.) I’m detailing my response here.
The Background for Context
Bruce Tuckman (Ph.D. in Psychology from Princeton University) conducted extensive research on group dynamics, and he published a related model in 1965. At that time, the model included four phases: forming, storming, norming, and performing. However, Dr. Tuckman subsequently determined that adjourning was so important that he (with Mary Ann Jensen) updated his model in 1977 to add adjourning as the fifth phase. In the context of this discussion, phases and stages may be used interchangeably; and group dynamics is also referred to as group development, team dynamics, and team development.
Dr. Tuckman’s model has stood the test of time because it remains highly relevant and beneficial. Since his related work was published, it has been supported by additional peer-reviewed research. And it has received recommendations and coverage from leading organizations including Google, Harvard Business Review, IEEE, Forbes, MIT, Fast Company, NASA, Microsoft, TNW, Project Management Institute, Scrum Alliance, Scrum.org, Association for Project Management, Gartner, CIO, Spotify, Imperial College London, RAND Corporation, Princeton University, Software Engineering Institute, University of Edinburgh, Cisco, KPMG, Warsaw University of Technology, DevOps Institute, American Express, SANS Institute, Zurich University, SAP, ViacomCBS, Oxford University, American Management Association, AT&T, University of Southern California, IBM, and many others.
While Tuckman’s model is durable and relevant, no model is perfect. It can be helpful to understand any concerns or limitations—with an emphasis on any which are independently verifiable and are published in peer-reviewed studies.
I related to the student that there are critics of Tuckman’s model, but that they’re few—and I’m not familiar with criticisms meeting the aforementioned rigor of being independently verifiable with such findings appearing in peer-reviewed studies.
I said, for example, that I was already aware of the critic's stated disregard of Bruce Tuckman’s model. I previously looked into the situation to learn more. My research and findings follow.
The Research and Findings
In a █████ communication, the critic said “I never liked ...” referring to Tuckman’s model. He or she went on to state that his or her reason was that “Gersick tested it ...” (Tuckman’s model) and “...it’s not true.” The critic included a link to the paper which was the basis for his or her stance. The link goes to the following paper:
Curtis, B., Walz, D., and Elam, J. (1990, October 1). Studying the Process of Software Design Teams. In: ISPW '90: Proceedings of the 5th International Software Process Workshop on Experience with Software Process Models, pages 52-53.
The critic said that “Gersick tested it” and pointed to the paper. However, Gersick is not an author on the paper. Still, I reviewed the content to see what, if anything, the authors (Curtis, Walz, and Elam) said about Tuckman, Tuckman’s model, and/or Gersick. Here’s what I found.
On Tuckman: Tuckman was not mentioned anywhere in the paper.
On Tuckman’s model (a reference to forming, storming, norming, performing, and/or adjourning): The following appears: “Rather than the standard group process of form-storm-norm-perform, Gersick suggested there came a point halfway through a group project where the team faced its lack of progress.”
On Gersick: Gersick was mentioned four times: “Gersick (1988) observed such a point in a study of project teams” and “Rather than the standard group process of form-storm-norm-perform, Gersick suggested there came a point halfway through a group project where the team faced its lack of progress” and “Gersick's model may be more descriptive of temporary teams that are asked to perform tasks out of their area of expertise” and (a reference citation) “Gersick, C.J.G. (1988). Time and Transition in Work Teams: Toward a New Model of Work Development. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (1), 9-41.”
The critic said that “Gersick tested it” ... and “...it’s not true.” However, as a summary of the above, Gersick is not the author of the paper, and the authors (Curtis, Walz, and Elam) commented that Tuckman’s model did not seem to work for one project. On that one project, “Rather than ... form-storm-norm-perform ... there came a point halfway through ... where the team faced its lack of progress.” That does not negate Tuckman’s model. While teams typically move through the different phases, it’s entirely possible for a team to face a lack of progress at a given time. Phases don’t progress magically; the phase is a marker of the team’s current progress and effectiveness. The critic said that “Gersick tested it” ... and “...it’s not true.” The research specified by the critic did not state that it tested Tuckman’s model and found it to not be true. The research specified by the critic does not support his or her stand. Nevertheless, I dug deeper.
The above paper by Curtis, Walz, and Elam includes Gersick’s work as a reference. I found and carefully reviewed Gersick’s respective research. Again, it’s: “Gersick, C.J.G. (1988). Time and Transition in Work Teams: Toward a New Model of Work Development. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (1), 9-41.” I looked to see what Gersick said about Tuckman or his model. Here’s what I discovered.
Tuckman was mentioned five times: “There was no initial ‘storming’ (Tuckman, 1965; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977) in this group” and “First, as Tuckman pointed out in 1965 and others have noted up to the present (Hare, 1976; McGrath, 1986; Poole, 1983b), they offer snapshots of groups at different points in their life-spans but say little about the mechanisms of change” and “Since all teams were doing construction work on their projects during phase 2, similar to ‘performing’ in Tuckman’s (1965) synthesis, it was a time when teams were more similar to both each other and to the traditional model than they were in phase 1” and (a reference citation) “Tuckman, B. 1965. Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63: 384-399” and (another reference citation) “Tuckman, B., & Jensen, M. 1977. Stages of Small-Group Development. Group and Organizational Studies, 2: 419-427.”
The critic said that “Gersick tested it” ... and “...it’s not true.” However, as a summary of the above, Gersick did not state that Tuckman’s model was tested and found to not be true. For example, Gersick did not say that there was no storming; rather, it was qualified as “no initial ‘storming.’” Furthermore, and most importantly, Gersick provided the following caveat: “This study must be interpreted with caution. It was hypothesis-generating, not hypothesis-testing; the model is expressly provisional.” According to Gersick, the research did not test or prove anything.
The research—both the paper pointed to by the critic, and the reference study—does not supply the stated basis for the critic's stance.
The Conclusion with the Answer
In conclusion, Tuckman’s model has stood the test of time because it remains highly relevant and beneficial. No model is perfect, and it is helpful to understand any concerns or limitations—with an emphasis on any which are independently verifiable and are published in peer-reviewed studies.
My answer to the student’s question (“What do you think about █████████’s disregard of Tuckman’s model?”) was that I diligently reviewed the facts and neither the paper linked to by the critic, nor the other study cited by the paper, support the critic’s assertion that “Gersick tested it ...” (Tuckman’s model) and “...it’s not true.”
Maybe—or maybe not—the critic's view of the model is because of a misunderstanding regarding the research. Or maybe—or maybe not—there's another reason. As Steve Jobs said, “You can please some of the people some of the time.”
The Phases of Team Development Visual
Citation: Graffius, Scott M. (2021). Phases of Team Development. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.13140/RG.2.2.22040.42246. DOI link: https://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.22040.42246.
For permission requests, see below.
Details—high-resolution images, information on permission requests, and more—on the Phases of Team Development visual are here.
Details on the Spanish version are here.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, LSSGB, ITIL | High resolution photo available here
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker. He has generated over 1.75 billion dollars of business value in aggregate for the organizations he has served. Graffius is the founder, CEO, and principal consultant at Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™, based in Los Angeles, California. His expertise spans project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership inclusive of agile, traditional, and hybrid approaches. Content from his books, workshops, speaking engagements, and more have been featured and used by businesses, governments, and universities including Gartner, Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Cisco, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the National Academy of Sciences, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Army, Project Management Institute, the IEEE, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Warsaw University of Technology, University of Waterloo, Loughborough University London, and others. Graffius has spoken at 58 conferences and other events around the world, including Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Thinkers360 named Graffius a global top thought leader and influencer in four domains: Agile, Change Management, Digital Transformation, and GovTech.
His full bio is available at https://www.scottgraffius.com.
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