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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Team formation, development and management

A newly formed project team at Karlon Ltd has been working together for several weeks. Members now openly disagree about who should lead tasks, challenge the team leader's methods and form small cliques. According to Tuckman's model, which stage is the team in, and what is the most appropriate leadership response?

The team is in the storming stage, where conflict over roles, leadership and methods emerges. The leader should help resolve the conflict, clarify roles and encourage open discussion. Forming involves polite dependence, and norming involves agreed ground rules, neither of which matches the behaviour described.

  1. AStorming; the leader should help resolve conflict, clarify roles and encourage open discussion of differencesCorrect
  2. BForming; the leader should give detailed direction and let members get to know each other
  3. CNorming; the leader should step back and delegate because the team has agreed its ground rules

Explanation

Open disagreement over leadership, challenge to the leader's methods and cliques are typical of the storming stage. The leader needs to manage conflict, clarify roles and goals and encourage constructive debate. Forming is marked by politeness and dependence on the leader, and norming by agreed rules and cohesion, so neither fits.

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