The Youth Work Lab: Group Dynamics

The theory

It’s really useful when working with young people to have an understanding of how groups form, develop and change, and how you can help them through these stages.  

For example: you set your group a project to do but it takes them ages to get started as they all seem to be politely disengaged. After a while, an argument erupts and they all fall out. After picking up the pieces the group seems to be a bit more communicative and the project begins to move forward. Finally, young people seem to be comfortable in their roles and the group works together and takes pride in what they have done. Sound familiar?

Bruce Tuckman was an American psychologist on a naval base in Maryland when he argued that groups went through four distinct phases as they come together and begin to function: forming, storming, norming and performing.

Stage 01: Forming

This initial stage is full of anxiety as the group begins to get to know one another. It is here that they test the boundaries of the group leader (if there is one) and is acceptable behaviour. The desire is to be accepted by the group and so not much actually gets done. In forming his group of disciples, Jesus calls them out of one mode of being into another; from fishermen to fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). He also establishes the cost of being part of this group (Matthew 8:20-22).

As a youth worker it can be helpful at this stage to give room to the group’s expectations of what the group is for and what is expected of them. Having the group discuss and choose some ground rules can set agreed boundaries for their time together. Anxiety when forming a group is common due to the participants being unsure of others’ opinions. It is important that the group agrees that it is a safe space for them to bring their thoughts and views.

Stage 02: Storming

This is the stage when things can become a bit rocky: the niceties are over and differences come to the fore. Young people’s patience for each other will break. Confrontations will arise. While some may see it as young people being honest about real issues, others may see it as uncomfortable and will want to return to the forming stage. This stage is all about dealing with the conflict; sweeping it aside means that the group won’t progress. The storming stage should not be feared because of the conflict. Saul Alinsky wrote: ‘Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a non-existent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict.’

The battle for position in the group of disciples is shown in Luke 9:46-48 where the disciples argue about who is the greatest. Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ storming is to re-establish a hierarchy where the least among them is the greatest. In order to help your group through the storming stage, it can be helpful to reaffirm the initial positive relationships, using the group agreement to hold group members to account; this is best done by young people rather than an adult. Allow time and space when conflict arises and always aim to keep channels of dialogue open. Keep the space safe for the disagreements to happen.

Stage 03: Norming

Now the group has become established, the conflict of the earlier stage has given room for young people to understand and appreciate each other’s differences. The conflict also leads to agreed acceptable and unacceptable behaviours in the group and thus ‘norms’ are created. Now they have a common sense of purpose and growth, learning and action start to happen. However, there is a danger that the group are so afraid of returning to the conflict of the storming that they may ‘walk on eggshells’.  

The norming stages can be seen in the life of the disciples any time they seem to understand who Jesus is and what his mission on earth is. In Mark 8:27-30 Jesus questions the disciples about who they think he is. Peter says that he is the ‘Messiah’ and there is an understanding over Jesus’ role and their part in his ministry. While this stage feels a whole lot better than the storming, they still aren’t working together as best they can. To ensure that the group moves through this stage it is important that they remain honest with each other and use the conflict resolution skills that they have learnt.

Stage 04: Performing

This stage is characterised by the interdependence of the group. They know each other well enough to perform tasks in an almost seamless way. There is a loyalty to the group and this level of comfort within the group means that they can     focus on the task at hand. The group at this stage requires less supervision and hand holding. At this point the disciples have not only heard and seen what Jesus can do but are starting to do it themselves. Jesus went from village to village teaching and then sends out the disciples to do likewise in Mark 6:6-13. However, the disciples’ big step up doesn’t come until after Pentecost.  

All sorts of influences can cause the group to go back into the storming stage. A new group member could arrive who challenges group roles or the task could change so different skills are required, thus the group storms to reorder itself. There is no telling what may upset the balance, only that change will come and youth workers can be in a good place to help them through it. Once the group is established it may be that they cycle through the storming, norming and performing stages but as the relationships grow they may spend less time storming.  

Possible Stage 05: Adjourning  

There may come a point when the group disbands. The project may be over, or young people may move on to different social groups or university. This is a time of celebration of what the group has achieved, but also a time of loss felt by group members. When Jesus leaves the group the disciples fall apart. Some take the road to Emmaus, others return to their former occupations (John 21), but as we know - this isn’t the end for the group!  

Here the youth worker’s role may be to help the young people evaluate the project and their time together to see how far they have come. Look at what skills they have developed and what they may want to develop next time. Time to reflect is important, so do not rush this stage.  

The experiment

I’ve been working with this group of boys for 18 months and we were in the performing stage. We were really pleased with the progress we had made as a group. A lot of the local young people find it hard to trust adults and this group had been kicked out of the other youth provision in the area. One evening at our boys-only club, the group broke into a cupboard and stole a lot of tuck without us noticing. I didn’t find out until the following morning, and the group then spent the week avoiding me. That weekend I was out of town, and when we came home we found that our front door had been defaced with graffiti. It was quite a nasty and disheartening thing to arrive home to.  

In my mind these events were connected. The group of boys had avoided me all week, and we were due to re-open the venue. They knew they were in trouble, so I think the vandalism was a pre-emptive attack trying to distance themselves from us after the guilt of stealing the tuck had settled in. On reflection, this is classic storming. Things had been going really well with the group, but with the start of a new term and a new worker in the club, the group’s overriding feeling of anxiousness may have brought about this behaviour. Essentially, it was an emotional reaction to the changed environment and a test of the consistent relationships.  

I wanted to do something that would open up a dialogue to talk about what happened and help us through the storming stage. Rather than confront them, which might have escalated the situation and set back the relationships we had built, I wanted to challenge the incident and repair the relationships in one action.  

We scrubbed the door clean and put up a note: ‘To the people who wrote on our door... You are forgiven. You are beautiful people and we love you. We are sorry if we have hurt you.’ I then convinced the other staff to join with my plan: I filled a massive box with tuck and gathered the group. Lifting the lid, I asked them why they had behaved so terribly and told them that if they want things all they had to do was ask. I then gave it out generously to contrast the theft of the week before. The group just stared at the amount of tuck on offer, before starting to fill their pockets. The whole group seemed pretty shamefaced, but with all the usual bravado and lack of gratitude.  

Our hope is that as the story of the incident of the stolen tuck and our generous response is told among them and their friends, God’s love for them will be known and felt. We are moving forward with the group and have begun to put the incident behind us with much improved behaviour. I believe that because of our actions the group may become even stronger than it was before.    

Try it yourself:  

• Has your group just entered a new stage, beginning to explore the new dynamic?  

• Are the young people you work with stuck in a stage? What might you do to move them on?  

• The storming experiences of the disciples prepared them for their future work. How might that look for the young people you work with?  

• John’s reflection and action towards the storming of the young men was all about putting the relationships first - how might you put relationships of the group before their behaviour?  

Consider that this theory can be applied to you and your youth team. Consider what role you play in helping the team move through the stages.