the five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.

Bruce Tuckman introduced and identified the five stages of a team development. These steps are the forming stage, storming the stage, norming stage, performing stage, and adjourning stage in that chronological order. Furthermore, these steps usually apply universally to all teams/groups regardless of the team members’ demographics, purpose, location, goals, and cultures. In the forming stage, the team is just starting to come together and is characterized by anxiety and uncertainty. In storming, the group is characterized by considerable opposition and conflict. In the norming stage, the group's activities become a unified component. In the performing stage, there is usually high productivity, and the members are supportive, competent, supportive, and loyal. In the adjourning stage, the group needs to have fulfilled its goals; the group is to be closed on a positive note, but members usually feel uncertain and insecure about the future.

The adjourning phase is characteristically a single step since the goals of the team have already been accomplished. For example, in a particular project, a team can quickly achieve the aims of the project and then move to this stage. Also, there might be organizational developments in the team which may lead from the moving from the performing stage to the adjourning stage. A group whereby members had a high level of cohesiveness, and performance usually has lots of challenges at this stage. Groups with clear established norms among them also endure the same problems. Members of such a group often feel a sense of loss when they are moving to this group. This feeling of loss may reduce their motivation levels and lead to poor work at the end. These reasons are why this stage is sometimes known as the mourning stage.

In my activities and temperaments, I have participated in groups that were hardest to leave after the completion of the groups’ goals. In particular, I was once a member of a community group that was tasked with preaching and spreading the Christian gospel in a given neighborhood. We mutually agreed on almost everything on how to accomplish the organization’s points. There was an enormous level of unity and established norms which led to the high performance of the team. We accomplished our mission within the specified time. During the closing rituals, the team leader ensured there were appropriate plans for the transition process. All members were acknowledged and appreciated for their tremendous hard work and effort in occasioning the group’s overall accomplishment.

Imagining that I will adjourn from the group of colleagues I have formed while working on my master's degree in this program, makes me feel sad. However, I do appreciate that life is a process that has to go on. We, therefore, must appreciate and acknowledge one another for our mutual efforts to overcome this dislike and responsibility. Adjourning is a critical stage of teamwork in that, we celebrate the team’s overall success and appreciate/acknowledge/signifies the importance of each member of the team. Members can then close the team on a positive note.

Walden University M.S. in Early Childhood Studies

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