PayDay Loans FAQ

The relationship then moves into the Perform stage. In this stage, creative energies surface, increase, and flow abundantly as partners generate synergy. Now people perform at highly creative, efficient, and productive levels. The partnership achieves goals that often exceed expectations at the outset.

Partnerships, like most things in life, are not cut and dried. People move back and forth between stages as the dynamics of the relationship change in response to outside forces and influences. For instance, let’s say a group of people representing different departments in the same organization have joined together in a partnership to address the issue of quality. Currently in the Norm stage of development, they’ve functioned well for months. Then suddenly, the vice president of one department informs the group that the team’s objectives have changed. Some members object that the vice president is manipulating the group to focus efforts on improvements for his department at the expense of others. As conflicts arise about the team’s former objective versus the new objective, the group reverts temporarily to the Storm stage. If the team as a whole can clarify and agree on new objectives, the group will return to the Norm stage. Because members of the group have already established a level of trust among themselves, they should be able to move forward. Ideally, they will feel confident addressing issues and resolving them in an open manner and with group consensus. Rebounding from Norm to Storm and back is inherently easier than the initial evolution from the Storm stage.

The relationship then moves into the Storm stage. Now some of the initial politeness may begin to give way to more aggressive behavior as people begin to assert themselves and test the limits of the relationship. Conflicts begin to erupt between individuals or between individuals and the leadership, and trust begins to become an issue. Though most people dislike conflict, the Storm stage is a sign of growth in the development of the relationship. The better the relationship created in the Form stage, the easier it is to deal with conflict in the Storm stage. The group establishes boundaries; individuals express their needs; trust starts to develop; and, with luck, the relationship develops.

Members move into the Norm stage when they have identified their own needs and aligned those needs with the goals of the partnership; they are now able to contribute to the overall success of the endeavor. They begin to establish rules for acceptable behavior—both verbal and nonverbal. They start to know what is expected of them. They migrate in a normal and natural way to the roles that are established and defined. They begin to employ collaboration—rather than confrontation or avoidance—to resolve conflict. People feel comfortable with each other and begin to enjoy the personal relationships they’ve established in the partnership. They start to have fun. They experiment and try new and daring activities as they deepen the level of trust they feel with each other and begin to see their personal success tied to the success of the partnership. By the time the relationship reaches the end of the Norm stage, the values and norms of behavior have been integrated into the culture of the partnership.