Tuckman's Model

For this blog post, I think I going to look back at the time I've spent in my Fraternity...

Forming
This stage of Tuckman's model reminds me of the AGS Officer Transition period.  During this transition period, there is  always a lot that needs to be accomplished.  From making sure the new officers know and understand what all their position entails, to finding out when the best time for executive committee meetings will work best with everyone's schedule, to making sure that everyone is required to do their duty and if they can't, they will be replaced.  Since my time down here at OSU, I have gone through 2 officer transition periods and the Forming stage of this model really hits what the transition periods are like- spot on.

Storming
The biggest portion of our storming stage really occurs throughout the first two executive committee meetings.  I'm not saying that there isn't Storming throughout the entire year, but the first 2 meetings are where we really get the most accomplished.  The first two "Storming" meetings are usually pretty long.  We cover issues ranging from Recruitment, to Social, to Fundraising, to Service, even to continuing member education and different activities to make the actives become more involved in the house.  I really love this part of being on the executive team.  It's a lot of fun to sit down and plan out what a group will be doing for the year.  This is also the part of Tuckman's Model where I find the most issues.  During these meetings, everyone has different ideas of what they want to do in their positions.  There has been a lot of debating over some of the topics, but I have found that if we can find some common ground, the issue will work itself out and we can come to an agreeable conclusion.  However, this doesn't always work, and sometimes it just has to come down to a "majority rules" decision.  

Norming
I'm having a little trouble with this section of the Model.  I guess this part of the model reminds me  most of our chapter meetings.  Like most Fraternities and Sororities on campus, our meetings are very structured. We go through various opening activities, and then we move on to a period of our committee reports.  During these reports, each officer tells of what the events that they will be planning.  We then open up to questions and comments, and then move on to the next officer report.  It's basically just a way for the members to know what was talked about in the executive meetings.

Performing
This is basically go time for my Chapter.  Recruitment events begin getting planned.  Social events are set.  We set dates for different tasks.  People are asked to help with various tasks (distributing flyers, raising money, etc.)  This stage is the result of all of the planning and debating that occurred in the past two stages.

Adjourning
To be honest, I don't really remember being apart of any group that had to dissolve itself while I was still apart of it.  If I had to guess what type of group would have to dissolve itself, I would say a group that has been created to plan a one-time event.   After a group plans this one-time event, I really don't see any need for it to continue to meet.  The only time I could see them continuing is if there event was such a huge success that they have been asked to plan another one.  A good example of this would be the Salem Community Center's Woman's Night Out.  My mother was actually on the planning committee, and it was supposed to be just a one time deal.  However, there ended up being over 500 women attend (which is a big deal because Salem, OH is a small town).  Now, they have hosted the event for over 4 years now, and I don't see them stopping anytime soon.