Foundations of Group Behavior: Navigating Team Development

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Hey everyone, welcome back to C715 Made Simple: OB Success Without The Stress. I’m Dr. Maryann Lamer—and if you heard last week’s episode about leadership, you remember I said leading isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about influence, adaptability, and, honestly, understanding people. Well, today we’re digging into one of the core ways people work together: group behavior. What makes a group...well, a group? And not just a room full of random people with nothing in common beyond the coffee in the break room. Let’s get to the foundation.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

A group, in the context of organizational behavior, is more than just a crowd. Think of a project team brought together to launch a new product—that’s a group, with shared goals, interdependence, and roles. Compare that to, say, people waiting in the dentist’s office. They’re together physically, sure, but each has a different agenda and there’s zero interdependence—well, except maybe hoping the Wi-Fi works.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Now, you might hear folks use “group” and “team” pretty loosely, but technically, a group becomes something more—maybe a team—when the shared goal requires real collaboration. There are a lot of theories about how people interact in these settings, but for organizational behavior, we lean heavily on models that help us break down how groups function and develop. Tuckman’s model, which I’ll get into in a second, is one of the most enduring. There’s also Punctuated Equilibrium, which offers a different way of seeing changes in group performance, but more on that later.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Before we move on, let me give a quick story from my own first corporate board experience. I’ll be honest—I walked in ready to contribute, probably a little overconfident with my freshly-minted MBA. But, wow, those first interactions matter. There was a sort of awkward politeness, nobody stepping on toes, but no one wanted to say what they actually thought. It set a tone that lasted longer than it should’ve—until, finally, someone cracked a joke and suddenly the atmosphere loosened up. That early vibe, those first signals? They stick. I learned fast that the “group” becomes a real group only after you get through that initial surface-level stuff.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Alright, with all that in mind, let’s talk about the roadmap for how groups actually develop and why that matters for anyone looking to lead well.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

So, Bruce Tuckman gave us this classic model back in 1965—the Five Stages of Group Development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and later, Adjourning. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but once you see it in action, it sticks with you. Let’s break the stages down, and I’m gonna borrow the “Mission to Mars” astronaut team as an example, because I really love how well it fits.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

In the Forming stage, the Mars astronauts, strangers from all over, come together—everyone’s polite, a little tentative. Commander Sullivan, their leader, knew immediately to start building trust; he had everyone share stories, strengths, even their fears. It sounds simple, but those early actions set a foundation for safety. Leaders at this stage need to set out the basics—clarify the mission, define roles, and let people start building relationships. If you skip this, you’re in for trouble later.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Then comes Storming—the hard part. I mean, there’s always this belief that conflict is bad, but as we saw in the Mars team, it’s honest disagreement that shapes a group. The crew started to push their different agendas; the engineer butted heads with the geologist, and the medical officer questioned the chain of command. Commander Sullivan didn’t shut it down. Instead, he let the team air it out—promoting open dialogue but also setting firm rules: personal attacks aren’t allowed, but tough conversations are. As a leader, it’s about guiding—not squashing—conflict.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

If you survive storming—sometimes it feels like barely—you hit Norming. Suddenly, things don’t seem so hard. There’s a rhythm. The Mars crew began to trust each other, roles were clearer, and team meetings were more effective than tense. Decisions weren’t just “let’s make peace,” but actually built on respect. As a leader, at this stage, guide but don’t overshadow. You need to build confidence in the group so they can take more ownership.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Then, with time, high performing teams reach Performing. The Mars astronauts, when mission day arrived, worked together seamlessly—even under the stress of a malfunctioning life support system. They depended on each other, solved problems fast, and Commander Sullivan could step back and let the group take the lead. Key point: it’s not a hands-off approach, but a supportive and empowering one.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

And then sometimes, the project wraps up. The Adjourning stage, or—some call it “mourning.” It’s easy to forget about this phase, but it’s important. For those astronauts, the end of the mission meant emotions: pride, but also loss. As a leader, you really want to help celebrate achievements and encourage people to reflect. What worked, what didn’t. Give closure.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

In every stage, the leader’s role shifts. Early on, it’s about clarity and setting expectations. In storming, it’s guiding conflict—not avoiding it. In norming, you’re solidifying group culture, and in performing, you focus on development and autonomy. When it’s all over, be the one to help the team look back and learn before moving forward.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

While Tuckman’s model is such a great tool for understanding group dynamics, it paints a pretty neat path. But let’s be real, in practice, things get a little messier—and that’s where we need to dig a bit deeper.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

So, let’s talk about the realities that throw a wrench in those tidy group development stages. Tuckman’s model is super helpful, but in real life, your team isn’t guaranteed to move in a straight line from Forming to Adjourning. In fact, they almost never do! Meetings get tense, people stick to old habits, someone new joins, or something shakes up the group midstream—it can send you right back to Storming whether you like it or not.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

One of the trickiest traps is “artificial harmony.” That’s when everyone seems to be getting along, but deep down, there’s no honesty or healthy debate—just a fear of rocking the boat. If you’ve ever been in a group where everyone nods along, then gossip explodes in the hallway, you know what I mean. Avoiding conflict doesn’t mean your team’s high performing—it usually means they’re stuck.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Leaders have to be vigilant about these kinds of issues. Look for persistent conflict that never resolves, or the opposite—productivity’s flat, meetings feel like you’re moving through molasses, and no one brings up real issues. Those are red flags. If you see them, it could mean your team has regressed, maybe even back to Storming or Forming, especially after a shakeup in membership or mission. And that’s not a failure, it’s just part of the group lifecycle.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

So, what can you do? Well, decision-capturing techniques can help. Try writing down (even temporarily) the agreements and decisions you make as a team—this helps reduce rehashing old debates and gives everyone a clear point to return to when disagreements flare up. And if communication is the sticking point, the PREP framework is a great tool: Point, Reason, Example, Point again. It helps people articulate ideas clearly—without spinning out into tangents or heated back-and-forth.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Let me wrap with a real-world example. I once worked with a nonprofit board—passionate folks, big hearts, but wow, did we have a rough start. We cycled through Storming again and again, every time new grant opportunities shifted our priorities or a new director came in. What made the difference was resilience—the willingness to revisit our shared goals, communicate openly, and honestly admit when things weren’t working. Eventually, we found our stride and actually became a high-performing group. But it wasn’t because we followed the model in order or never took a step back—it was because we kept circling back to trust and shared purpose.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Group development isn’t a checkbox list. It’s this ongoing, dynamic process—full of setbacks, little victories, and constant learning. No matter what stage your team is in, or if you’re a brand-new group or an old hand, keep your eyes open for the real dynamics under the surface—and don’t be afraid to shake up artificial harmony if you spot it.

Dr. Maryann Lamer

Alright, that’s all for today. As with leadership and goal setting—like we talked about in previous episodes—success really is about staying engaged in the process, learning as you go, and being willing to flex when things get messy. Next time, we’ll dive into more organizational behavior concepts you can apply to move your group—or your team—along that development path, wherever you happen to be. See you then!