I was on a call with a manager recently who had attended Our Essential Management Skills Open Course in London, and he asked me a brilliant question, relating to Tuckman’s Group Development Model.
He asked me how to get a team into ‘Storming’, the second, potentially ugly stage where conflict, or the avoidance of conflict, occurs and interpersonal differences arise within the group.
Context is always helpful, and it may be very different depending on the size, experience and maturity of the team members.
However, one vehicle for inducing a meaningful and potentially difficult conversation is to set, or reset, the expectations, values and direction of the team. You see, a passive manager will allow the team to coast in their results and behaviours; we could label this mediocrity.
Or, if the manager feels strongly about the direction, achievements and cohesiveness of the team, they will intervene to ensure that the measures are in place. This takes courage, effort and thought, not to mention skill and access to the tools and support a manager needs to thrive.
Setting values with a team is not as straightforward as it would come across in a keynote presentation about the topic. It can be messy and complicated by both the characters and current performance of the team. I would be asking:
• Why does it need to be done?
• How am I going to do it?
• Who needs to be involved?
• What will the values be?
• Where do I do this? 1:1, online, or as a group?
• What should I expect might happen in the process?
Bearing in mind that Tuckman says that a team at Storming needs to:
• Learn how to communicate professionally and effectively.
• Have discussions and conflicts that are productive, respectful and result in practical takeaways.
• Feel psychological safety so concerns can be surfaced openly.
• Agree on methods for raising and resolving conflict.
• Articulate what they need from each other and from their leader.
The challenge for a manager is that these things rarely happen naturally. Most teams will avoid difficult conversations if given the opportunity. Team members may nod in agreement during meetings, but privately hold frustrations, concerns or different expectations of one another.
This is where setting or resetting values can become such a powerful intervention.
Imagine a team agreeing that accountability, openness and respect are core values. The moment those values are discussed, interpreted and challenged, differences begin to emerge. One person’s idea of accountability may be very different from another’s. One person’s definition of respect may feel restrictive to someone else. These differences create the friction that is often necessary for growth.
The goal is not to create conflict for the sake of it. The goal is to create the conditions where healthy conflict can exist. A team that never disagrees is often a team that is not saying what it really thinks.
Managers should not fear the Storming stage. In my experience, many try to avoid it because it can feel uncomfortable and unpredictable. However, avoiding Storming simply means the issues remain hidden beneath the surface. They still exist; they just never get addressed.
A well-managed Storming stage allows assumptions to be challenged, expectations to be clarified and relationships to strengthen. It creates a foundation for the next stage of development, Norming, where trust, collaboration and shared ways of working begin to emerge.
Perhaps the question is not “How do I get my team into Storming?”
Perhaps the better question is “How do I create an environment where people feel safe enough to disagree, challenge and contribute honestly.
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