Topics in This Section:
- Storming, Norming, Performing
- Creating Roles for Members
- Groups or Teams?
- Setting a Mission and Goals
- Types of Research
- Model Projects
The Scored Mini-Project:
- Project Design Briefs
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This is New and Scary
It’s likely that your new group is excited to get started and has lots of ideas! It may be that they barely know each other and each isn’t sure how much they can trust the others. Worst of all, maybe a few in your group know each other well, and others feel like they are on the outside.
Whatever the case, all groups can anticipate some anxiety, some rough patches, some surprises in how each person responds to the other. These first few posts try to address those issues and offer some recommendations.
The first step is recognizing that all groups go through four (or five) stages of emotions and work, depending on their familiarity. Even if you are all friends, determining who will lead (or who will decide on leading) can become tricky. Here’s how it works in a short video:
- Forming — The group gets together and privately all have emotions of concern, anxiety, distrust, questioning, etc,
- Storming — Tempers and emotions are taut, and there is wrestling over control of the conversation and the direction of the group
- Norming — The group begins to come together to figure out what its “normal” will look like
- Performing — The group settles into a groove and begins to work well, forming solid relationships
- Adjourning — Eventually you will have to say good-bye
So, maybe a different video will help you see it . . .
