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.
