Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had a bad experience working in a group
or a team? Well if you're like me the answer is yes. But if you know a little
bit about the research we're going to talk about on this video, you won't be as
alarmed or discouraged by it. We're going to talk about the four phases of group
development, sometimes called the four phases of decision emergence based upon
some research by Aubrey Fisher. So let's get into the details.
Hello again friends.
Alex Lyon here and this channel is all about helping rising leaders like you to
help you increase your personal leadership impact so you can bring out
the best in the people around you. And part of great leadership is learning how
to work well with teams and groups. That's a huge responsibility for leaders.
So let's get into the four phases of group development or decision emergence.
And once you see all four I guarantee you'll see yourself in it. You'll see
your past group experiences in it. It'll be a little bit reassuring. So the first
phase that almost all groups get into when they start a new project or add new
group members is called orientation. This is where people essentially warm up to
each other and warm up to the task that they are facing. So you get together and
you make a little bit of small talk. If you would express an opinion about the
task it's usually pretty middle-of-the-road. You're not taking a
strong stance yet. You're, it's really important that you develop this social
foundation for the group. You get to know each other this these early moments,
develop a little bit of trust and bonding that will help you work well
later. You don't want to skip right into the task. In fact, if you skip right to
the task and get rid of all the small talk it's gonna cause a lot of problems.
Eventually, however, once you're good and warmed up you have to move on to the
task and usually that's where you enter the second phase, which is called
conflict. And this is where people always say oh man my group is fighting and
arguing. But the second phase is a necessary phase and some degree of
conflict is not necessarily a sign of trouble. It does not automatically mean that
the group is off course. In fact, you have to have some conflict. Because if
you think about it, if you express an opinion and someone else
expresses a different opinion maybe you're gonna have a disagreement.
If you want to be the leader someone else wants to be the leader, you're gonna
have some conflict. If you suggest a direction and they want a different
direction, you're gonna have conflict. That's totally normal. That's what it
means to be a human being. And in fact if you get through this in a mature way, in
a patient way, and understand that this kind of conflict is normal, it can be a
very productive process for the group. And you get a lot of good ideas on the
table and you can move forward with some of the best ideas. So once you're out of
this conflict phase because you have to move forward you've got to deliver
things. You're probably on a deadline. You get into the third phase which is called
emergence. And this is where the group really for the first time starts to
emerge or come together as a cohesive group. So to do this, people are backing
off some of those stronger opinions. They're letting other people maybe take
the lead and maybe they'll take the lead next time. They're figuring out their
role in the group and what part they have to play. The dust begins to settle a
little bit and people start to move forward. This is a very reassuring stage
because you're like Oh finally we're making some progress. Oftentimes as a
deadline which will kick you into this third phase. And then finally the fourth
phase is called reinforcement. This is where the entire group is now working
together as one. Everybody is pushing in the same direction toward the goal.
Everything is being reinforced. So you're really firing on all pistons or all
cylinders. Everybody's headed in the same direction with the same vision. So if
you've ever been on a sports team, if you've ever been in the performing arts
or anywhere where there's like a showtime, like a game time, then you
probably have seen yourself go through these four phases pretty clearly. A lot
of times the coach will get you out of that conflict phase and settle any kind
of conflict and disputes you have. You get together. But by game time, by
showtime, you have to be firing on all pistons. So here's why I say you have
to get the conflict out earlier. A lot of times people don't like the conflict and
they don't want to go through that second phase. So they stuff it. They push
it down. What ends up happening is it comes out at the wrong time later
because those disagreements still exist. They didn't go away and you didn't work
through them. So they come out when you should be reinforcing and moving forward,
sometimes they'll come out in the wrong moment at the wrong time. Now a couple of other
tips about this. Any time you add a new group member any time you are starting a
new project of any kind you're very likely to go through this cycle again.
These aren't steps that then you or stay reinforced forever. You go back through
this cycle time and time again anytime there's something new introduced to the
group or the team. So a question of the day. Where do you see yourself in this
process? If you've ever had a very memorable experience in a group or a
team that matches up with this or perhaps you got stuck in that conflict
stage, I would love to hear your comments in that section below.
So thanks. God bless.
I will see you in the next video.