Storming

STORMING

A tutor once gave me a paper on 'Storming' - an element of a theory by 'Tuckman' about group life.

Have you ever felt like a work colleague was treading on your toes, taking control of your work, picking up credit for your ideas, pushing themselves as better than you or bad-mouthing what you have done?  We have all experienced it at some time or other, perhaps at school, with our family, or in our sports club, but this part of a team life-cycle is called 'Storming'.

At school it is often mis-judged and called bullying.

This happens when people of different character profiles allow their dominant profile to take control - IE dominance and submission.  One person feels they are strongly right and empowered to do an aspect of the role of another and the other feels strongly over-powered by a combination of factors and an imbalance arises.

In business as in families these can cause rifts that last for many years.

This is where the 'Teambuilder' role comes in to enable the rift to subside quickly.

All too often this role is left out of the team - you can be so busy putting the characters in place you forget the glue that holds them together and makes them productive.

A good teambuilder will use 'Storming' purposefully to build a stong well bonded team.

This explains two things we observe in marriages:

1. Couples can argue all the time and be a strong couple

2. Couples can be nice to each other all the time and hate each other

Balance and understanding is the key in any relationship - it is not about peace all the time it is about respecting each others strengths and weaknesses

So next time you feel a strong emotional urge - think - it might just be a storm in a tea cup or maybe someone is hoping you'll settle your differences.

< Back to Nevs Nuggets