The team becomes more comfortable with each other and begins to question the team's charge and how it is going about
its work. Some members may become impatient about the lack of progress and start arguments about the actions the team
should take. The members try to rely solely on their individual and professional experience, resisting collaboration with
other team members. Personal agendas may drive member participation, and members push their own ideas regarding task
definition and resolution. During this phase, members question the wisdom of those who selected this project and appointed
the other members of the team. The members may argue, even if they agree, and this phase may be marked by members
choosing sides within the group, making bids for power and drawing divisional lines.

Tool: Conflict Management

Teams that do not go through storming are thought never to norm or perform well as a team. Managing disagreements and
conflicts effectively is a critical tool for progressing through this stage.

Avoiding Conflict through Defensive Routines

Defensive Routines - behaviors we engage in to avoid or minimize conflict, dialogue and discussion; behaviors we undertake to avoid feeling surprised, threatened or embarrassed or demonstrating ignorance. A goal or consequence of these is the maintenance of status quo.
These stand in the way of an individual’s ability to unearth their unconscious mental models.

  • Examples:
  • Avoidance mechanisms: rejection, roadblocks, procrastination, paralysis of analysis, indecision, mixed messages, sabotage, creating/attending to distractions, not raising concerns to avoid challenging authority (agreeing with superiors)
  • Untested assumptions - avoiding the hard work of conflict by adopting a view of reality without
    reality testing (providing minimal information)
Superficial analysis ("Band-Aid" solutions) - failing to look at the root cause; analyzing only
the result/symptom and not the causes; blaming the victim; not discussing the "undiscussable" (conspiracies of silence).

Tools Glossary Resources

Close Window