Storming Stage: Turning Conflict into Connection

WEBVTT
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Welcome to this edition of Psychology Explained by Dr.
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Curtis Peterson, who is trying to bring psychology
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alive for us all. All right, let's go to the storming
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phase. Okay, um,
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one of the things that I do want to note is seeing
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these phases occur means that your group is
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heading in the right direction.
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And so I don't want you to think of this storming phase, and when
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you see it, uh, that it's proof that your group
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is failing. What the group is trying to do is
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set the psychological boundaries of
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the group. Okay, and so, uh,
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in the storming phase, conflict reveals different
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needs, power trust, space, and expectation.
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Okay, and this is where you'll
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see— and Cameron's example was a perfect point of that— where
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group members will start to challenge each other.
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Uh, in some cases, uh,
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the groups, uh, enter into really this
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power play. Of who is the people
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who will be controlling the group and who will be
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the subordinates. And, but I want
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to note, this is also the trust-building phase. Okay,
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this is where people are truly getting to know each other. The persona
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is starting to come down.
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And this is also where the group is going to set the pace
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that the group should move forward as.
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Um, and kind of take the expectations.
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Okay, the thing— the,
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the, the best thing that during this storming phase a
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facilitator or group leader can do is,
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one, name what is observable.
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So in the conflict stage, this is where things
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like reflection are very important.
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And physical observation becomes very important.
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It's where you, when you see conflict between
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2 individuals,
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you sit and you say, you know, um, something that
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I, I'm— I want to just note in this thing is
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it appears that Joe is, uh,
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feeling very uncomfortable by what Bill is
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saying. And Bill, you look
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very agitated. You— it looks like you're,
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you're, you're, you're really stressed about
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this conversation. And sometimes you'll get, no,
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no, I know I'm fine. Or that person will sit there,
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oh, I, I do feel stressed. Or they might just say,
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kind of back off. But what are you doing in that moment is
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that you're having those individuals recognize
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the reaction they're having on each other and
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the dynamic that is going on with each other.
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Okay? And then there is on the positive part where
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you have 2 group members that are like, uh,
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know, I had the, I had the same experience you
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had. I had a, you know,
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my friends came over, one had a
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12-pack, and man, that experience is
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really close to what you experienced. And I had the same
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kind of reaction. This is normal. What will they think
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if I don't have a beer? Those kinds of things. Again, the facilitator
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then goes, it looks like you guys have had really good,
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really similar experiences, and you had the same
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thoughts. And this is where in the
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group you go, has anyone else had a similar experience?
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All right, what are you doing in
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that situation is that you're acknowledging that shared
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experience and how those 2 are connecting And
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then what you're doing is, is then you're also saying, hey,
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we— there, this is a group conversation.
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This is something we should be experiencing together,
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not just between those 2 individuals. So you're acknowledging
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the connection they made, and then you're broadening it
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to everyone else. Okay.
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Invite differences without retaliation.
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All right, and this, you know, if you think about the power dynamic
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where a person are vying for, uh,
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you know, wanting to have control within that group and
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wanting to make sure that they feel safe,
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um, this is, uh, um,
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where you might go into you saw this conversation,
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and I want to acknowledge your experiences. You look
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very agitated, and it feels like you're having a very
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visceral reaction to this. And,
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um, I'm seeing your stress response,
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and, and I, and I feel like
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I can feel your stress over here.
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Can we talk about Uh,
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anyone else in the group, has anyone ever
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experienced this and this interaction?
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And does anybody have a, a way to invite
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a kind of a different perspective into this dynamic?
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All right. Um, and, and Cameron, I see your hand and I
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really want to get to it. I do want to just finish this and we'll
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stop recording it. So, uh, uh, so What
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we're trying to do is we have 2 strong views. The room just got quieter
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before deciding what are we protecting and who
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has not entered into the conversation yet. And in both
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of those situations, those are examples of that. Okay,
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and remember that in the forming stage, it's not about removing
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the conflict, it's making the conflict usable
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and safe. All right, so with this
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storming phase kind of lecture part out of the way, let's, let's get to,
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uh— Thank you for joining us for this Psychology
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Explained. I hope you'll join us in later episodes where
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we can— we'll continue to investigate the human mind
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and psychology.