The one with the team stages
The five stages of team development
Hey there 👋🏼
Last week I focused on how we all can improve our onboarding process.
If you didn't manage to read it, feel free to check five best practices that will change your onboarding process - Onboarding Culture
Aligned with that thought, I want to mention Dr Bruce Tuckman's work on the five stages of a group's development. Even though this paper is from 1965, it's still highly relevant today. To dig deeper into this subject, read the original study: Developmental Sequence in Small Groups.
According to the study, there are five stages that a group, our team, goes through. The stages are Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning.
I think this doesn't happen once, but every time the team's formation changes. The intensity and duration of each stage are different depending on:
who the member is,
their seniority,
personality type and
if they're moving in or out of the team.
So let's dive into the five stages of a team's development and highlight what you need to watch out for.
Thinking of groups, I will naturally compare the stage with our favourite group: Ross, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe, Monica and Chandler.
Forming
Do you know that butterfly feeling you felt on your first day of school? The uncertainty of how it would go, if you would like your classmates and if you would click.
Or when you run out of your wedding, adventuring through the streets of New York and entering Central Perk and a new phase of your life.
The forming stage is very similar to that.
Everyone is still extremely polite, prioritising people over the work at all times.
As the team's leader, since dynamics still need to be established, you will be able to direct individual work.
At this stage, expect the team to be a little low-performing.
Storming
Think of Chandler and Janice. Everything is excellent, and they get along until Janice finds something funny. Her laughter is... different. OH-MY-GAWD!!
The Storming phase is when we start noticing the little things that annoy us.
We often have different working styles, and inevitably, they clash.
This has a negative effect on those who lock in and keep up the hard work because the processes defined in the Forming stage no longer apply.
Some individuals even stop doing their job as they start doubting the team's goals.
Norming
As the storming phase fades out, you'll see team members respect each other's contribution to the team, processes, and delivery.
With this new respect, you'll eventually see them give constructive feedback to each other and leadership.
This is a vital moment in the team's relationship as they start focusing on more complex topics and acting as a team.
Note that it's normal to go back to the conflict phase occasionally. It doesn't disappear overnight.
Performing
Happy times!
The team is at an all-high in productivity and performance!
They love what they do and the team they work in.
The team is at a maturity level that functions with minimum supervision, and everyone trusts their problem-solving skills to take the team to a good location.
This is a conflict-free zone, collaboratively moving towards the same goal. Remember Ugly Naked Guy? Was he asleep? Dead? Only one way of finding out! Creating a huge poking apparatus made of drinking straws.
Adjourning
Not all teams are permanent.
Sometimes you create teams with the sole objective of delivering a specific project. Once the project is delivered, the group disbands, and the team members return to their original location.
This phase focuses on precisely those teams.
After reaching a maturity phase of high performance, disbanding the team leads to the mourning stage of its members.
Everyone has a tough time separating from people with who they created close bonds.
This reminds me of what I felt, probably you too, once we saw that apartment with purple walls stripped down of furniture and painting. Of what we felt when the six people who coexisted with us for ten years put down their apartment keys in a bowl for the first time. The feeling when the door with the golden frame closed for the last time.
That feeling? That's the adjourning phase.
You're likely to recognise your team somewhere along one of these stages. Knowing what's next is an excellent way to start giving the first step forward.
That's it from me. I hope you have a fantastic weekend and that this issue brings back beautiful memories from Friends and helps you guide your way through your team's journey to high performance.
⏱ TL;DR
The five stages of a team's development are:
Forming: Everyone is still trying to understand what's going on
Storming: Conflicts start to arise. Embrace them.
Norming: Team members start seeing value in each other.
Performing: You have a happy, high-performing team
Adjourning: For temporary teams, disbanding causes mourning
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Have an incredible week! 💪🏼
Parada 👊🏼 A Leader's Mindset
And obviously, we couldn’t miss this GIF now, could we?
