2 The S-curve of team performance
In the last activity you considered the different stages Mark’s team went through to complete their task. Their journey from the Forming stage to the Adjourning stage, when they celebrated the success of their efforts, saw them pass through different levels of competence or performance. It could be said that they were not Performing fully until the latter stages of their development. This gradual move to competence and successful team performance has been described by Lipnack and Stamps (2000) as an ‘S-curve’ (Figure 2).
In Figure 2 you can see that as time progresses the group slowly improves in the way it performs, reaching maximum performance or competence in the final stages of Performing and Adjourning. In reality, it is unlikely that progress through these stages will be as smooth and sequential as illustrated and there is no guarantee that the final stage will be reached. You’ll explore this in more detail in the next section.
Activity 2 A little introspection
Consider a team that you are currently part of. Where would you place your group on this S-curve of team development? What kind of behaviour or feelings can you identify that indicate to you that this is where your group is currently at?
If you are not currently involved in any team activities, then consider an example of a previous team experience or use an example of a famous team that you are aware of to consider where they are currently on this curve. Reality shows like Big Brother and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here are fertile ground for an examination of group dynamics, so do use these as well.
Comment
If you’ve experienced some conflict, considering your team from this perspective can provide useful insights and reassurance.
Don’t worry if you struggled to identify where your team currently sits on the curve. The reality is that these phases are rarely distinct and a group may go back to an earlier stage more than once. You may also have found that a team which you have been part of seemed to get stuck, failing to reach the later stages of the curve.
It is important to realise that not all groups successfully move through all of the stages and reach a point of successful performance.
While Tuckman’s model provides a useful guide, there are real life complexities that it is useful to be aware of, and you’ll explore those in the next section.
Stankiewicz (2024) offers this advice:
For me it provides a really good roadmap for team development and fostering collaboration. Don't treat it as an oracle, but rather a point for reflection and guideline for further optimisation.