Remember the Titans: Tuckman

Tuckman in his "Stages of Development' model identified 5 stages of team formation: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (CIPP, Unit 1). Based on his analysis and characteristics of each stage it becomes possible to recognise that the team has reached the stage of 'Performing'. According to Tuckman it is the final stage of development when a team is fully functioning and produces its 'best work'. The main features of the ‘Performing’ stage are (CIPP, Unit

A personally interesting incident in the book is when Howard looks in the mirror after changing the color of his skin and sees a black man looking back, Howard panics due to the fact that could have lost his identity. As he decides to explore the Negro world, Griffin anticipates racial oppression, poverty hardship and prejudice based on racial grounds. The extent of the prejudice shocks Griffin, which serves to symbolize the prejudice and discrimination that the black community during the Jim Crow era. The next incident in the book that is personally interesting is the switching of races

He seems to want the audience to respond with shock and sympathy as they witness how vile the black people are treated. One of the few racism dilemma’s is shown after Gerry, Alan and Ray are returned to the high school after coach Yoast stops them from joining the city riots. Infuriated with the black people fighting back, Gerry instigates the racism and discrimination, snarling, “Hell why don’t you just kick ‘em all off the team. I don’t wanna play with any of them black animals.” This scene was very effective and coincided with the use of close-up camera shots to enhance Gerry’s emotions, whilst reinforcing Yakin’s message that black people were treated poorly and erratically.

There was always the white community and black community separated by the hatred for one another. Coach Boone tries to change their behaviors by having a white teammate share a room with a black teammate to conform in a good way. He wanted to change the attitudes and beliefs toward the opposite race by putting pressure on the group. Both coaches conform together to show both teams that coming together can give great results in a community that was so segregated. There was lot of bullying between groups in the movie and teasing. The biggest positive of conformity is acceptance. When you conform, people will be more willing to accept you because you are falling

     Another important role that is established by one of the players is the role of the magnet that finally brings the black kids and the white kids together. This role is taken on by Louie Lastik. He takes this role when he’s the first one to approach the other black kids and make friends with them. He shows us his role when he sits down net to the black kids

The conflict the teammates have will eventually help to shape their team and to work together.

Sustained contact occurs in the film during the six-week football training camp, that both the white and black team-members attended. Before leaving for the camp, Coach Boone splits the team into two groups- offense and defense. He then pairs up people in each group- a white person with a black person. He then tells them, “Get comfortable too, because the person that I have you sitting next to is the same one you’ll be rooming with for the duration of this camp.” He does this in hope of the team members getting to know each other for who they are, not by the colour of their skin.

However, based on six main traits suggested by Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman & Fetter we can make a conclusion that Yoast wasn’t a transformational leader in the context of the movie. In this particular situation, where coach Boone was a head coach, and Yoast had to accept the rules of the game, he probably could not display his full potential being an assistant coach. So, the question “what if Yoast was a head coach...” is not relevant to the movie current context and will be discussed later.

When they first came together, there was a significant amount of vying and jockeying for power, between the players and the coaches. The leader of the white players (Gerry) tried to assert himself to Coach Boone early, but the coach made sure Gerry knew his place. A coach is a leader and must take charge if a player oversteps his boundaries. The difference in the coaching styles also showed early on, as both coaches had different objectives. Coach Boone, who was fighting to keep his job, was almost like a drill instructor and demanding. While Coach Yoast was more lenient towards the players and more hesitant to yell at them. This may have been due to the fact that Yoast was told that the head coaching job was his if Boone lost a game.

As a leader you must be real with yourself and others for fake will not fix or implement change. In his position Herman Boone was real in a sense that he was genuinely honest and upfront in every encounter with others, he does not sugar coat things or beat around the bush, and instead of telling you what you want to hear, he tells you what you need to know. At times though it seems that Boone’s raw emotions such as his attitude, assertiveness and arrogance are a bit too real, we are able to see that they are key components in how he establishes his sense of urgency throughout the organization. At the start of the movie, the sense of urgency created by Boone’s attitude almost lead the team in the wrong direction, as the players did not respect or understand the way he went about doing things. For example, before the players leave for camp Boone is approached by Bertier about positions on the team, in the midst of the conversation Boone says “You take a look at her. Cause once you step on that bus you aint got your mama no more. You got your brothers on the team and you got your daddy. You know who your daddy is, doncha? Gary, if you want to play on this football team, you answer me when I ask you who is your daddy?” Statements such as these do not usually sit well with others, many including myself would find this very disrespectful. On the other hand Coach Boone’s ability to be real with himself as well as others allows him to express raw emotion and concern that explains his reasoning behind his actions, As shown in the scene after the first game when Yoates challenges Coach Boone’s public criticism in regards to Petey, he replies “you think you’re doing these boys a favor, by taking them aside every time I come down on them…I may be a mean cuss but I’m the same mean cuss with everyone on that football field the world does not give a damn how sensitive these kids are…you are crippling them” the tough love shown by Coach Boone towards his players expresses a real

As the movie progressed and Coach Boone’s vision came together, Coach Yoast slowly but surely began to show more support. Coach Boone’s consistent preaching, that he did not view the team as black and white players, but instead, simply as football players who must form cohesion and take actions not for self, but for team, eventually rubbed off on Coach Yoast. This is where the culture in the coaching staff began to form. Trust also began to build and the three coaches, now more cohesive themselves were able to accomplish much more in order to coach their players much more constructively. By the time the Titans had made it to the championship, all three coaches had put their differences aside, bought in to the vision and culture, and were able to coach their players to victory.

Coach Boone had an excellent follower or Co-leader. Coach Hines’ co-leadership abilities seemed to be the conscious for Coach Boone. He steps in and positively influenced Coach Boone decision. Also, Coach Yoast is excellent as a co-leader. The success of an organization or team is incumbent upon the abilities of everyone and all successful leaders have highly effective co-leaders.

I still remember the time I was chosen to lead the public relations team at one of the student activities back when I was in college, an experience that shaped a lot of the person I am today. I had to establish and maintain good relations with all stakeholders and media, prepare newsfeed updates for all social media platforms, and above all manage a team of 20 members. I spent a lot of time thinking that I am now donning the shoes of my seniors and becoming the person that freshers would look up to. Being an influential leader is not easy, I was sure, and it is more than just telling others what to do. In the following few lines, I employ Tuckman's stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing to outline my journey

There are many theories on the ways that group form and become efficient and effective teams. One of the best-known team development theories was first developed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965 and has formed the basis of many further ideas since its conception.

This balance is often observed difficult to achieve, especially within the solution teams. This is mainly attributed to the team formation stages as described by the Bruce Tuckman’s model (1965). According to Tuckman, the team formation goes through the forming, storming, norming and performing stages in progression. In the forming stage, there is a high dependence on leader for guidance and direction. In the storming stage, team members vie for position as they attempt to