Importance: 10%
The Big Idea: Every group goes through a cycle of steps:
- Forming: honeymoon stage of initial excitement and motivation
- Storming: initial excitement is over and differences in opinions, work styles, personality, etc. all come to the surface. They can either be healthy resolved or negative patterns and damaging conflict can start.
- Norming: the group begins reaching consensus on how to operate and work together. If storming went well then the healthy environment will help the norming make a strong and functional group. But if not this is where bad patterns of behavior can get ingrained.
Any time there is a new person or significant change in group dynamic this cycle will be retriggered.
Theory remembered from college group psychology class.
Todo: track down that book and find the reference