Does your team know the Form-Storm-Norm-Perform model? If you asked them when they thought the team was going to be in the next phase, what might happen?
Knowing where you are
As much as I’d often like one, I have yet to see a clear signal marking the phases when they happen in real life. It may not be apparent until we are fully in a phase, that we’ve reached it. Knowing what phase we’re in can certainly help everyone navigate the related team dynamics. But beyond the comfort of trusting that “we’ll get through Storming”, I believe we draw motivation from envisioning what could be possible, and when.
Going through the phases, on live tv?!
Canada’s national women’s curling championship, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, started this week. Usually every team has worked for months with a plan to be at peak performance for this tournament. But the coronavirus closed gyms and rinks. Practice and qualifying tournaments were cancelled. For the event to be held at all, has required a strict bubble, which forced a hard decision by some athletes to choose between competing and being with their families and communities. No team had a plan for all of that, and some teams have very recently been back in the ‘Forming’ phase with substitute players in their line-ups.
The competitive environment itself is different this week than what the teams are used to. The announcers have suggested that everyone is a rookie this year given how much the event has changed because of covid protocols. There is no energy to channel from fans. There are no handshakes to start or end the games. Off-ice there is frequent testing, and no socializing.
We get to see, in real time, every team working through the Form-Storm-Norm-Perform phases toward strong peak performance, on live television!
Aiming for peak performance with intention
But they know the phases, and have been actively working through them, and they have coaches to get them effectively to where they want to be, ideally when they want to be there.
This made me wonder – can openness about the phases, help our own various teams, in the progression to our goals?
Exercise to consider
So here’s an exercise:
- Share the phases, perhaps with a graphic, and invite everyone on your team to give their thoughts on which phase you’re in,
- plus, ask them when they think you’ll be in the next phase.
- Use the feedback for further development of trust and knowledge sharing.
More levels of the exercise
Other levels of the exercise could be:
- Ask in what ways, especially with disruptions from covid, the team has gone backwards in the phases? Perhaps on a particular project, or around a general sense of connection and empowerment?
- Ask for suggestions on collectively setting a target for being at the peak of the Performing phase, and encourage suggestions on behaviours the group can adopt to get there.
