January 28, 2003

Group Stages Handout

Sustainable Communities 484/584

 

Group Stages

Stage

Defining nature

Tasks

Moving On

Forming

Polite but untrusting

-         Orientation to each other, orientation to the task,

-         Some may be silent, some dominant

Relinquish the comfort of non-threatening topics

Risk the possibility of conflict

Storming

Testing others

-         Competition and conflict in personal relations

-         Organization in task dimension

-         Leadership, decision-making, responsibilities

-         Conflicts exist

Move from testing to problem-solving

 

Requires ability to listen

Norming

Valuing others

-         Relationships cohesive

-         Creativity high

-         Productivity good

-         Feel good being part of effective group

 

Performing

Flexibility from trust

-         Interdependent relationships

-         People work independently, in subgroups, as a whole group equally effectively

-         Highly task oriented and highly relationship oriented

 

Adjourning

disengagement

-         Planned conclusion

-         Recognition and review