In This Chapter:
Defining and Classifying Groups
Work Groups
Work Teams
The Five-Stage Model of Group Development
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
Factors Affecting Group Development
Group Norms
Group Size
Leadership Dimensions
Leader’s Behaviours
Group Cohesiveness
Group Composition
Developing Organizational Trust
Integrity
Competence
Consistency
Loyalty
Openness
The Group Decision-Making Process
Individual Decision Making
Group Decision Making
Groupthink
Brainstorming
Putting It All Together
CHAPTER 3
Group
Development
I
n this chapter, you will learn about
the following:
 The classification of groups and why people
join them
 The five stages of group development
 Factors that impact effective group
development
 The importance of developing trust within a
group or organization
 Group decision making and its by-products
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“Coming together is a beginning;
Keeping together is progress;
Working together is success.”
Henry Ford
H
ave you noticed that when individuals interact in groups, they
act differently from when they are alone? This occurs not just in
a social context but also when people come together in groups
to undertake projects. Working cohesively, in concert, often produces
superior results over individual efforts. In this chapter, we examine the
basic concepts regarding groups and demonstrate how an understanding
of groups can help leaders function more effectively.
Defining and Classifying Groups
G
roups and teams are not the same thing. Groups can range from
several strangers standing together at a bus stop, to an elementary
grade 5 class, to colleagues working on a project. Teams, on the other
hand, can include a sports team, a hospital emergency room team, or a
group that has worked together and evolved into a team unit.
Work Groups
“ ”
Teamwork divides the tasks and
doubles the successes.
Anonymous
A work group interacts in order to share information, eventually making
decisions that will help each group member perform within the areas of
his own responsibilities. Work groups do not engage in collective work
that requires everyone’s participation. This means that the performance
of the group is only the sum total of each individual group member’s
contribution. For example, teachers at a high school will meet to discuss
topics about the upcoming school year, changes to the building, and
staff changes, and each department will update the others on new
initiatives taken on by their departments. The teachers leave the meeting
with information and ideas that they can implement within their own
classes.
Work Teams
A work team, on the other hand, represents a small number of individuals
with complementary skills who are working towards a common result, a
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performance goal, and personal accountability. A work team exemplifies
positive synergy, where the result of the group’s performance is
greater than the sum of individual member inputs. Simply put,
the group is successful because all group members work together
towards a common group goal.
When a Group Becomes a Team
Work groups evolve into work teams when the following conditions
are met:
•The members of the team share in the overall leadership – each
may assume the leadership role at different times.
•Accountability is shared by the team as a whole, and responsibility
is shared equally among team members.
Two heads are better
than one.
SYNERGISM: the
action of separate
substances that in
combination produce
an effect greater than
that of any component
taken alone.
•The mission of the organization or group is developed by the team
itself, not an outside source; the goals of the group are also created
by the group itself.
•The team works continually, not just at regularly scheduled times.
•The overall effectiveness of the team is measured in terms of team
outcomes and goals rather than individual outcomes and goals.
You can probably think of many personal experiences involving
students, administrative councils, athletic councils, church youth groups,
or summer camps that relied on work teams to accomplish the objectives
of the group. However, simply creating a team does not automatically
improve organizational success. The leader, also known as the team
leader or project manager, must identify and
take full advantage of each group member’s
A good team leader is able to unify a group of individuals to take advantage
strengths. For example, the teachers within the
of their individual strengths and to achieve collective success.
physical education department meet to create
an extracurricular events calendar for the year.
After the work team brainstorms to come up
with possible activities and events, the individual
teachers volunteer to organize specific activities
based on their personal interests and expertise.
The project manager/team leader helps the
work team choose activity leaders within the
group, but each group member also has the
opportunity to assume a leadership role. Each
work team member assists with the other activities involving planning
and supervision. The work team pulls together to achieve collective
success.
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In the following sections of this chapter, you will learn that successful
work teams have certain characteristics that make them effective and
efficient units. Therefore, the leaders of any organization need to
recognize these characteristics and ensure that they are present in the
team members. We start by analyzing the underlying stages of group
development to see how groups actually evolve.
The Five-Stage Model of Group Development
I
Adjourning
Performing
Norming
Storming
Figure 3.1 The five
stages of group
development.
Forming
t is generally accepted that groups and teams pass through five specific
developmental stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and
adjourning. This sequence is depicted in Figure 3.1.
Although team development does not always follow this step-bystep sequence, a general process exists whereby a group of individuals
come together, engage in actions and reactions, and finally emerge
as a cohesive work team. Sometimes groups will become stuck in
a stage for a period of time or may revert back to a previous stage
until all members are ready to move forward. This can and will occur
occasionally, and the team leader must allocate time for the group to
deal with the issues and then move forward. A leader’s understanding
of group formation will help her use strategies that promote overall
team harmony. For this reason, we now turn our attention to the
five stages of team development.
Forming
The process of group members familiarizing themselves with one another
is called forming. The group members have just been introduced to
each other. The forming process begins with a good deal of uncertainty
about the group’s purpose, structure, and overall leadership.
For example, think of times when you have worked with youth
groups, such as coaching athletes or volunteering your services
at a summer camp. At this point, you will remember how
team members assess one another’s strengths and weaknesses,
engage in social comparisons, and determine the probability of
work team success. They also engage in “testing the waters” to
determine which behaviours are seen as acceptable and which are
not. Testing the waters may involve pushing a personal point of
view to see how the group will react. Will they accept your point
of view or will they offer resistance?
Every group goes through a period of
forming, during which time members
become acquainted and assess one
another’s strengths and weaknesses.
Storming
The second stage of group or team formation can be quite volatile, hence
the term storming. This stage of development, also termed infighting, is
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characterized by conflict and open rebellion – not exactly the recipe for
team cohesion. These power struggles are typical of the storming stage,
which is almost always characterized by intragroup conflict. The members
seem to accept the existence of the group but continue to resist the
constraints that the group imposes on individuality. Another confounding
factor is that there is also conflict over who will ultimately control the
group. When this stage of group development is complete, a relatively
clear hierarchy of team leadership will have emerged (Figure 3.2).
It is important to note that some groups never completely emerge
from the storming stage. A group such as this will always be less able to
complete task goals because of all the interpersonal problems and conflict.
Storming is both necessary and beneficial for the group since each person
needs to understand the other group members
Committee
and the strengths, weaknesses, characteristics,
Chairperson
and skills that they bring to the group.
This sets the stage for the norming process.
“
”
It’s important that people know what
you stand for – and what you won’t
stand for.
Mary Waldrip
Assistant
Chairperson
Treasurer
Programmer
Promotions
Norming
Secretary
Logistics
Figure 3.2 An example of a
committee leadership hierarchy.
When groups are able to resolve the interpersonal conflict inherent in the
storming phase, they reach the next phase of development, norming, where
close relationships develop and the group starts to exhibit cohesiveness.
Team members increasingly become organized, and individual cooperation
evolves. All of a sudden, a sense of group identity and camaraderie is
apparent. At this point, the group develops norms, which are acceptable
standards of behaviour, group goals, or values that are shared by all group
members. Once agreed on, norms act to influence the behaviour of the
group members. The norming phase can be considered complete when
group structure becomes solid and the group recognizes a common set of
expectations regarding correct group behaviour.
Performing
In this phase, when significant task progress is being accomplished, the
group has reached the performing stage of development. This becomes
noticeable when a group just seems to come together well to perform
individual functions for the benefit of the team. The team structure
is completely functional and acceptable to individual members at this
point. The total energy of the group has moved from getting to know
one another to performing the specified task at hand in an appropriate
fashion. When work teams are formed, performing is the team leader’s
ultimate goal.
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Adjourning
For permanent work teams, task performance is the final stage in overall
group development. But there are also times when a temporary committee,
team, or task force is put in place. This occurs most often when a group
within an organization has been assigned a limited task to perform, within a
particular time frame. Once that task has been completed, an adjourning
stage takes place. At this point, the group prepares to disband, replacing the
overall team goal of task performance with simply wrapping up activities.
When this happens, some members are happy the job has been completed,
while others experience a sense of loss of the team camaraderie that has
evolved over the group/team formation process. This stage has also been
Group Development – Forming to Adjourning
Stage 1: Forming
You are a member of a group that has been asked to create and
implement a volleyball tournament. You are meeting the other group
members for the first time. The team leader has provided information
and direction.
Stage 2: Storming
Your group meets to determine the course of action for the volleyball
tournament. Areas of responsibility for each group member need to be
distributed, and a chairperson must be appointed. Officiating, scheduling,
registration, refreshments, advertising, promotions, and set-up and takedown of equipment are some of the areas of responsibility that require
leadership. The group must decide who is best suited for each area
based on each person’s interests and expertise. Not everyone will be
happy with the area assigned to her. This could involve storming until the
roles are assigned and the group is ready to move on to the organization
of the tournament.
Stage 3: Norming
Your group now begins to organize the volleyball tournament. Meeting
once a week, each member updates the group on the progress within
his area of responsibility. The group offers support and advice on
challenges that arise, and individuals volunteer to assist if necessary.
Stage 4: Performing
The volleyball tournament is under way, and the group is working well
together. The group members meet early in the morning to set up
for the day and go over last-minute items. During the day the group
members work together, helping each other and the participants in the
tournament.
Stage 5: Adjourning
The volleyball tournament was a success, and the group meets to
evaluate the event and wrap up any loose ends. The group enjoyed
organizing and implementing the event and looks forward to volunteering
for another tournament during the year.
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called re-forming. If the experience was positive, members may decide to
work together on a different project because they want to continue to
develop the relationship or they enjoy interacting with each other.
Factors Affecting Group Development
J
ust as groups can be seen to consistently pass through a sequential
series of stages in becoming a team, several important factors play
a large part in this overall developmental process. In this section, we
highlight the observation that groups have a common set of principles
that shape the behaviour of all participating members.
Group Norms
If you have ever played golf, you know that golfers do not speak while their
opponent or partner is putting on the green. Similarly, it is customary
for spectators at a tennis match to remain quiet while the ball is in play.
The reason for this is that certain norms operate in any given group. In
other words, the members of that group share acceptable standards of
behaviour that are considered to be appropriate.
Of special importance to the project manager or team leader is that
groups exert considerable pressure on members to comply with previously
established standards. When individuals violate group norms, other
members often move to punish or correct the deviant behaviour. An
exemplary leader will therefore strive to understand the norms operating
in any group or work team so that he can better interpret individual and
group behaviours and make the necessary recommendations for positive
change.
Acceptable standards of behaviour vary from
one group to another. For example, golfers do
not speak when a playing partner or opponent
is putting on the green (above) and students
normally raise their hands when they have
something to contribute to the group (below).
Group Size
The size of a group definitely affects overall team behaviour. However, the
effect of size varies positively or negatively depending on the purpose and
goals of the group. For example, smaller groups are generally faster than
larger groups at completing assigned tasks. Smaller groups with three to
seven members can often make decisions quickly with less discussion
and interruption. Group consensus is much easier. Larger groups can
bring forth more opinions; thus it can take longer to hear all ideas and
arrive at a group decision. A volleyball tournament group consisting of
six members – each member assigned a specific area of responsibility –
performs well because the group is an optimal size with separate tasks
delegated to each member. If a group is assigned one or more problemsolving tasks, then larger groups will generally outperform their smaller
counterparts. This occurs because large groups (12 or more members)
are good at achieving diverse input from team members and excel at factfinding ventures. See an example in the box Size Matters.
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