Engineering Management
Manager’s Guide to Navigating The Four Stages of Team Development
How to help a group of new hires become a high-performing team sooner
Managers of newly formed teams want them to start performing as soon as possible. A theoretical model that can help achieve that was proposed by psychologist Bruce Tuckman in 1965. It describes four stages in team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Managers and teams familiar with that model can effectively address the challenges at each stage and reach the Performing Stage faster and with less drama along the way. Let’s look at what exactly we can do at each stage.
1. Forming Stage
When a new team forms, its members are unsure about its purpose and goals. They don’t know what they need to achieve and how. The team managers must address that and focus on clarifying the team’s purpose and bringing every team member on the same page.
The organisational environment the new team exists in is also unfamiliar to its members. The managers must introduce the team to its stakeholders and explain its dependencies and its place in the organisation.
Furthermore, at this stage, the team members don’t know whether they will be able to work well together and if they will fit in. They behave nicely, comply with instructions, and treat each other like strangers. To help the team gel, the managers need to encourage collaboration and cooperation between team members and ensure everyone gets a chance to work with each of their colleagues to build relationships.
2. Storming Stage
Storming starts when conflicts and competition emerge in the team. At this stage, the team goals may already be clear, although its members may have different views on the best ways to achieve them. Managers should help the team consider everyone’s point of view and allow each member to contribute to relevant team discussions. Reaching consensus on each issue that requires a debate is crucial — compromises won’t help in the long term. Frequent and regular team retrospectives are great for discussing and resolving issues at this stage.
The roles and boundaries are typically unclear at the Storming stage. Team members may not like the work style of their new colleagues, challenge the emerging team norms and resist control. Managers must ensure that the team norms are discussed, accepted, and followed by each team member. Defining the team’s “working agreements” can help here.
Furthermore, team members may encounter unexpected difficulties, feel lost and overwhelmed, and disillusioned and disappointed with their new team. Managers need to support each team member and ensure they can contribute and their peers are not blocking them. Frequent 1–1s allow managers to help their team members cope with issues and find a place in the team.
During the Storming stage, the managers should ensure the team members are clear about the team norms and their roles in the team. Managers must keep supporting their team members and improving collaboration and cooperation among them.
Managers need to recognise each achievement the team makes at this stage, no matter how small or large. The team must know that despite all difficulties, they are still delivering and making progress.
3. Norming Stage
Most teams survive the Storming stage. They eventually agree on some team norms and find a way to collaborate. The team’s level of conflict and antagonism drops, and people become more constructive, supportive, and understanding. They compete less and collaborate more. These are the signs to identify the transition into this stage. The team finally forms its identity.
During the Norming stage, the team gradually optimises how it works. If the team doesn’t have some form of the continuous improvement process, such improvements happen organically, but if it does — they progress faster.
At this stage, the managers should keep recognising all team’s achievements. In addition, since the team environment becomes more stable and predictable, managers can start providing learning and growth opportunities for team members.
4. Performing Stage
At this stage, the team’s routine and norms become stable and change infrequently. The team may start thinking strategically about their work and balance work on initiatives and process improvements.
Team members become increasingly interdependent. They know and rely on each other’s strengths and can work together to achieve ambitious goals and meet deadlines. The delivery pace becomes predictable.
At the Performing stage, managers should keep encouraging team decision-making and problem solving as the team members have the knowledge, experience, and trust in each other. As the team becomes increasingly self-sufficient, its managers can gradually delegate their responsibilities to the team members to give them more opportunities for growth and free more time for strategic tasks.
Takeaways
When building a new team, it is essential to remember that it has to go through four stages in its development. Team managers should focus on different issues at each stage:
- At the Forming Stage, they should create clarity around the team’s purpose and environment and help its members find their place.
- At the Storming Stage, managers should ensure the team members agree on the team norms and keep following them. They need to help them find a way to work together and support struggling team members. Finally, they should ensure the team can resolve internal conflicts and disagreements.
- At the Norming Stage, managers need to help the team maintain its norms, establish the process for continuous improvements and start providing more opportunities for learning and development.
- At the Performing Stage, managers can expect the team to start delivering predictable results and meeting deadlines. They can delegate more responsibilities to the team and focus on more strategic work.
