As we’ve been talking about team management, we’ve been loosely following Bruce Tuckman’s model of team development, which I believe provides an excellent model for understanding how teams interact at various stages of working together. That understanding can go a long way when training and coaching team leaders and team members.

Today we’re talking about the cyclical nature of these stages, which include:

Forming – teams come together for a common goal or purpose.

Storming – teams “wrestle” over roles and ideas

“Norm-ing” – teams get busy, producing expected activity

Performing – teams start “grooving” – producing above average or extraordinary results

Adjourning - added by Mary Ann Jennings in 1977) – teams come to the end of a cycle or deal with a “reforming” or a significant change (not to be confused with a shift back to storming).

The process of reflecting on a team’s experience in a cycle can provide priceless preparation for success during the next one.

As a team leader, team builder or team player, how might you engage in the conversation? Listen below for more thought provoking conversation on the matter.