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Stages
in the Development of Groups
Groups mature and develop. Like individuals they have a fairly clearly
defined growth cycle. This has been categorized as having four successive stages
| 1. Forming |
| The group is not yet a group but a set of individuals.
This stage is characterised by talk about the purpose of the group, the
definition and the title of the group, its composition, leadership
pattern, and life-span. At this stage, each individual tends to want to
establish his personal identity within the group, making some individual
impression. |
| 2. Storming |
| Most groups go through a conflict stage when the
preliminary, and often false, consensus on purposes, on leadership and
other roles, on norms of behaviour and work, is challenged and
re-established. At this stage a lot of personal agendas are revealed and a
certain amount of interpersonal; hostility is generated. If successfully
handled this period of storming leads to a new and more realistic setting
of objectives, procedures and norms. This stage is particularly important
for testing the norms of trust in the group. |
| 3. Norming |
| The group needs to establish norms and practices. When
and how it should work, how it should take decisions, what type of
behaviour, what level of work, what degree of openness, trust and
confidence is appropriate. At this stage there will be a lot of tentative
experimentation by individuals to test the temperature of the group and to
measure the appropriate level of commitment. |
| 4. Performing |
| Only when the three previous stages have been
successfully completed will the group be at full maturity and be able to
be fully and sensibly productive. Some kind of performance will be
achieved at all stages of the development but it is likely to be impeded
by the other processes of growth and by individual agendas. In many
periodic committees the leadership issue, or the objectives and purpose of
the group, are recurring topics that crop up in every meeting in some form
or other, seriously hindering the true work of the group. |
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