Tuckman’s Model in Classic Literature
Book Review by Brian McLean
Date of Review: 4th Nov 2011

I recently read Ernest Hemmingway’s American Classic For Whom the Bell Tolls and found that it closely follows the team development model designed by Bruce Tuckman. The novel is set during the Spanish Revolution (1930’s) and was written in the early 1940’s, making it highly unlikely that Hemmingway had or ever did hear Tuckman’s model.
        In the Novel the protagonist Robert Jordan, a demolition specialist, joins a local militia group hiding in the Spanish mountains. Upon Jordan’s arrival the group and their leader Pablo welcome him and are thrilled to have a new officer join the group. This represents the Forming Stage of Tuckman’s model. The two parties know relatively little about each other and both offer little information to the other. Neither party trusts each other but each plays their role as either polite host or gracious guest.
        Eventually Jordan reveals his mission of destroying a bridge to the militia group, resulting in fierce verbal altercations and the voluntary exile of the old leader Pablo.  This demonstrates the Storming Stage. Once the conflict of receiving unwanted orders arises, the team quickly digresses into arguments and petty bickering. The team’s individuals begin revealing their previously hidden opinions and by doing so reveal more of their true selves to the rest of the group.
        After a few weeks the militia group decides they will help Jordan complete the mission and even Pablo returns to the group. However the group is still divided in thought and vision. This demonstrated the Norming Stage. The team members have revealed their true meanings and intentions to each other. They still rely on each others strengths to achieve task; like how Pablo used his knowledge of the local paths to lead enemy forces away from the camp. However they are also not a performing team, they do not share a vision and ultimately they begin to sabotage their own mission.
        Finally after an attack by enemy forces the entire team decided to share one vision and to accomplish the mission of destroying the bridge. At this point the team enters a Performing Stage. Trusting in each others strengths and compensating for each others weaknesses the team fills their roles and against all odds successfully completes the mission. However upon completion of the mission the team enters the final stage of Tuckman’s model, the Adjourning Stage. With the mission completed Jordan was leaving the team to go perform other missions with his specialty when he was mortally wounded. This left the team in an uneasy and sad mood, with no clear leader or direction. However since the team had a very strong bond and natural leaders in it, Pablo quickly reclaimed leadership of the team and led them away on their new mission of escaping the enemy.
        This novel which was written around the same time as Tuckman’s Model was published displays that the model can be used with almost any team. The model describes human interactions so whether one is analyzing sports teams, companies, or military squads; Tuckman’s Model will help analyze it.