The Tuckman 5 Stage Model For Team Development | drrichardsands.com
Channel: Dr. Richard J. Sands, MBA, CLSSBB
Date: 08/01/2022

Perhaps the best known and most widely used model for how groups develop into a team is that developed by Psychologist Bruce Tuckman - The Tuckman Team Development Model.

In 1965, Psychologist Bruce Tuckman described how teams move through stages known as forming, storming, norming, and performing, and adjourning. Tuckman worked with Ann Jensen in the 1970’s to further refine it to add the last stage of the model.

How It Works
Tuckman’s model is a hugely influential model and by all accounts my favorite model of team development Tuckman said that the success of the model was almost certainly due to the 
fact that they chose rhyming words for the different stages of the model which made it easy for people to remember.

Based on my 30 years in business, I definitely believe there is something in that statement.  I would also say that the Tuckman model is almost the perfect model and that it strikes the ideal balance between simplicity and sophistication; it is simple enough that we can easily understand it and memorize it.

There aren't huge numbers of stages and components that make it complex to understand but on the other hand, there is enough in it that it carries the sort of sophistication and subtlety that we need to explain a broad range of experiences and to accurately predict what will happen in many cases.

Building a model and getting that balance between simplicity and sophistication is hard but Tuckman has hit the nail on the head.  Let's now have a look at Tuckman's model which some people call the warming model and you'll know why when you hear the names of the stages.

Names of the 5 Stages:
1 Forming
2 Storming
3 Norming
4 Performing
5 Adjourning

Forming Stage
Most team members are positive and polite. Some are anxious, as they haven't fully understood what work the team will do. Others are simply excited about the task ahead. As leader, you play a dominant role at this stage, because team members’ roles and responsibilities aren’t clear. This stage can last for some time, as people start to work together and make an effort to get to know their new colleagues.

Storming Stage
Where people start to push against the boundaries established in the forming stage. This is the stage where many teams fail. Storming often starts when there is a conflict between team members’ natural working styles. People may work in different ways for all sorts of reasons, but if differing working styles cause unforeseen problems, team members may become frustrated.

Storming can also happen in other situations. For example, team members may challenge your authority or jockey for position as their roles are clarified. Or, if you haven’t clearly defined how the team will work, people may feel overwhelmed by their workload or uncomfortable with the approach you're using. Some may question the worth of the team’s goal, and they may resist taking on tasks. Team members who stick with the task at hand may experience stress, particularly as they don’t have the support of established processes or strong relationships with their colleagues.

Norming Stage
Gradually, the team moves into the Norming stage. This is when people start to resolve their differences, appreciate colleagues’ strengths, and respect your authority as a leader. Now that your team members know one another better, they may socialize together, and they are able to ask one another for help and provide constructive feedback. People develop a stronger commitment to the team goal, and you start to see good progress toward it. There is often a prolonged overlap between storming and norming, because as new tasks come up, the team may lapse back into behavior from the storming stage.

Performing
The team reaches the performing stage, when hard work leads, without friction, to the achievement of the team’s goal. The structures and processes that you have set up support this well. As leader, you can delegate much of your work, and you can concentrate on developing team members. It feels easy to be part of the team at this stage, and people joining or leaving won’t disrupt its performance.

Adjourning
Many teams will reach this stage eventually. For example, project teams exist for only a fixed period, and even permanent teams may be disbanded through organizational restructuring. Team members who like routine, or who have developed close working relationships with colleagues, may find this stage difficult, particularly if their future now looks uncertain.

Personal Experiences
In my past 30 years in management and I can attest Tuckman’s model holds true in almost all cases.  Also as a professor teaching classes where students all start a class at the same time, come together for course assignments and then adjourn when class is over.

Conclusion
The Tuckman model is a hugely flexible model and it's one that I believe every manager should know should understand and be able to call to mind when they are working with a group that needs to develop into a team.