I DO (collaborate)

Image by Stux

For me, group collaboration is never easy, but luckily I live in a time that makes group work less horrible through the use of technology. We have internet applications that provide us the opportunity to set up polls to see when everyone can meet in real life. There are applications that allow us to work on the same slideshow from different locations, removing the need to collaborate in-person. We even now have the ability to video call multiple people at once, again providing us the option to meet together at the same time, but from different locations.  

How we collaborate has changed over the years. Even though we now have the ability to work with one another through the internet, humans still tend to follow Tuckman’s 5 Stages of Group Development (FSU Medicine, et. al, 2017). These stages are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. 

Image by Diseñadores publicitarios

This past year, I have been able to go through all five of these stages in a group that collaborated both online and offline. Exemplifying the first stage of forming, we came together with a similar goal of making my best friend’s wedding experience the happiest time of her life. In a way, she formed this group, as the bride-to-be, to consist of herself and her bridesmaids. Many groups form in a similar fashion, in that they form around a shared goal. The Social Media Reader edited by Michael Mandiberg discusses the question, “Is intention essential to collaboration?” (Mandiberg, 2012, p. 57). He later states that, “Collaboration requires goals.” (Mandiberg, 2012, p. 58). He also recognizes that there are, “multiple types of intentionality that highlight the importance of intent in collaboration. The intentional practice is different from the intentional goal,” and that without “these shared goals, intentional practice is a much weaker case of collaboration.” (Mandiberg, 2012, p. 58).

When we were first asked to be bridesmaids, each girl was happy to be a part of this wedding party. No one wanted to overstep their boundaries in the planning process, as we recognized this was the bride’s day. This group came together in a way that agrees with Mandiberg’s stance on intentional goals, but soon found its way to the storming stage. 
Image by Ibrahim.ID

Not every bridesmaid lived in the same town, making it hard to collaborate on bridal shower planning, wedding dress shopping, etc. We had to turn to platforms like Skype, GoogleDocs, and private Facebook groups to work with each other. The bride only had one bridesmaid that lived in the same town as she, and though not her Maid of Honor, this bridesmaid quickly decided to plan everything on her own, leaving out the rest of the bridal party. This caused contention in our group. Tuckman states that as “the group members attempt to organize for the task, conflict inevitably results in their personal relations.” (FSU Medicine, et. al, 2017, p. 1). While just beginning to organize for our friend’s wedding, personal conflict came in the way of achieving our goal. We had to do what Tuckman explained as moving from a “testing and proving" mentality to a problem-solving mentality.” (FSU Medicine, et. al, 2017, p. 1). 

We had a difficult time transitioning from the storming to the norming stage. We should start to “storm” again several times before truly setting into the norming stage. Looking back, I realized that we found ourselves storming when collaborating over online platforms, and began to “norm” again when we could meet up in real life. While technology did make it easier to stay in contact with one another, it also produced mis-communication, since thoughts were read in a different tone than intended, emotional context was lost through text, and ideas could not fully develop. As I said in the beginning, group collaboration is never easy.

This bridal party was finally able to reach the norming stage during a break from school, when we could all meet together. To prepare for the following day’s plan to go wedding dress shopping, we came together and watched the popular TLC show, “Say Yes to the Dress,” which you can see a preview of here. We were able to share personal feelings, resolve those conflicts, and realize that many conflicts that were created in this process stemmed from the fact we were solely communicating online. 

Image by Allan Ajifo

We hit the performing stage the day of our friend’s wedding. We were able to stand by the bride’s side, standing next to one other, seeing all of the work we put in for this special day. Looking at this group’s past relations, I do believe we were able to perform to the best of our abilities because we were collaborating in real life, offline. 

Tuckman does acknowledge that the performing stage is not reached by every group, but as friends, we came together to reach this stage. Tuckman also states that groups are unified when, “group identity is complete, group morale is high, and group loyalty is intense.” (FSU Medicine, et. al, 2017, p. 1). Confirming this statement, our bridal group had a true identity, a high morale for the celebration, and a loyalty to our blushing bride and her groom. 

The final stage is adjourning. While you think we might have adjourned the minute the wedding ceremony and celebration ended, we did not. We were at such a high stage of performing that we continued to stay together as a group for several months after our favorite couple tied the knot. When we could collaborate in person, we helped our newly married friends write and send out thank you letters, and when we could only collaborate online, we would use the time to continue to celebrate this new stage of their lives. Only recently did our bridal party truly adjourn. We are all settled back into our normal lives of attending college or working, without the fun of planning a wedding. What these ladies do not realize is that I am about to ask each of them to be bridesmaids once again, as I was just proposed to in Disneyland. 
Image by AmericaSings released to the public domain/Wikipedia


Now that there is another wedding to be planned, we will go through all of these stages again. There will be more miscommunication through online planning. My bridesmaids will have time conflicts and may not be able to collaborate as much in real life as they were able to in the first wedding we were a part of. Even though this group consists of the same girls, it is still a different group that will have to find a balance of online and offline collaboration. I just hope that they will find a way to move from storming, to norming and perform to the best of their abilities on my big day.

-Hannah Leigh Johnson

References: 

Tuckman, B., & Jensen, M., FSU Medicine (n.d.). Five Stages of Group Development. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from Florida State University School of Medicine https://med.fsu.edu/uploads/files/FacultyDevelopment_GroupDevelopment.pdf 



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