Introduction
The stage of development in teams usually defines their future. Any team that is able to identify its stage of development goes on to succeed since, they know where they are and what they need to move on to the next level.
Most of the times teams ignore activities such as evaluation of their progress and at times they do it as a routine without the intention to accept or act on the results. Nonetheless, it is quite important to note that the more a team’s or a group’s performance is evaluated, the higher their chances of improving.
Several methods and models have been brought forward to help in team evaluation and development, among these include Tuckman’s model, which has helped determine the stages of numerous teams and groups. This paper will endeavor to evaluate this group using Tuckman’s model (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
Stage of the Team
Tuckman formulated a teamwork surveying model, which has been used by several groups to determine their level of developmental stage. The model is designed to spot the current stage of a team or a group.
The model is designed in the form of a questionnaire, each question has at least a point, which range from 1 to 5. The scores awarded are based on behavior of the team. These points are then summed up to determine the stage of a team.
According to Tuckman’s model, there are four stages of a team, these are Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing stages. The lowest attainable score is 8 and the highest is 40. The rules governing determination of a stage states that the highest score of the four stages gives the most likely stage of a group, while the lowest gives the least possible stage.
In addition, a team is considered to undergo transition when two scores are very close, unless they are both high in forming and Storming stages or in Norming and Performing stages, in which case, they will be considered as Storming stage or Performing Stage respectively.
Lastly, in case all scores of the four or at least three stages are almost similar, then the team is considered volatile, or without clear perception, in most cases it would be the storming phase (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
According to the questionnaire filled in Tuckman’s model, this group attained the following results. Forming stage (22 points), Storming stage (23 points), Norming stage (30 points) and Performing stage (38 points).
These scores show that the team is in the Performing stage, since the highest score is 38 and the highest possible points are 40. At the same time, when both Norming and Performing scores are checked, they are all high.
The close scores between Forming and Storming are therefore less important since there are high Norming and Performing stages. Moreover, it is also important to note that according to Tuckman’s model, any score above 32 points indicates the highest probability of the stage of a team (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
Performing stage is the fourth level of group progress. At this stage, our focus is to offer the best teamwork ever. It is characterized by productivity, harmony and participative leadership among others. Creativity is the main driving tool at this level with all participants focused on how to further this development (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
Summary
Several methods and models have come up for use in determining the levels of development in teams. Among them is Tuckman’s model, which was used in identifying this group’s stage. The highest score was 38, consequently the stage of the group is the Performing stage, which is the best of them. The focus at this stage is to offer the best teamwork ever (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
Reference
Clark, D. R. (2010). Leadership Activities: Teamwork Survey. Web.