Transitions at Work

American psychologist Bruce W. Tuckman developed an influential model of team development, first enunciated in a 1965 article “Developmental sequence in small groups,” published in Psychological Bulletin. Tuckman’s model traced the evolution of a team through four stages: forming, storming, norming and performing. Tuckman argued that these stages were necessary to build an effective team.

The chart below outlines the four stages of team building in the Tuckman model.

Bruce Tuckman’s model of team development
Stage	Characteristics	Team leader role
Forming	Team meets (formation); begins collective work	Outlines mission; looks for agreement on team roles, rules, guidelines for decision-making
Storming	Team deals with confusion and conflict over goals, decision-making, roles and control	Facilitates discussion; ensures common understanding of agreements
Norming	Team accepts goals, roles, rules; works positively	Encourages norming process; supports and coaches; celebrates success
Performing	Team focuses on achieving goals; personal growth for team members; conflict handled positively	Encourages high performance; facilitates communication; celebrates success

In 1977 Tuckman added another stage to the model: adjourning. In this phase the team completed its task and dissolved. (Some have also labeled this fifth stage “mourning,” as members of an effective team will feel some level of disappointment and sadness when their team is broken up.)

You can find Tuckman’s original 1965 article here in Word document format.

For COMMENTARY from D. Quinn Mills, professor emeritus, Harvard Business School, on Tuckman’s model, please click here.

For information on MindEdge’s online self-paced “Leading Teams” course, please click here.

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Copyright © 2007 MindEdge

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