The 5 stages of team development, and how to lead each one
Forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. What each stage looks like, what the leader does, and an activity that fits.
The stages of team development describe how a group of people becomes a team that works well together. The best-known model comes from psychologist Bruce Tuckman: forming, storming, norming and performing, with a fifth stage, adjourning, added later. Knowing the stage your team is in tells you what kind of leadership it needs right now, and which mistakes to avoid. Below: the signs of each stage, the leader’s job, one team activity that fits, and a quick check to find your team’s stage.
The 5 stages of team development at a glance
Each stage asks something different of the leader. Leading every stage the same way is the most common mistake.
| Stage | How it feels | Leader’s job |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forming | Polite, unsure, waiting | Direct and connect |
| 2. Storming | Tense, frustrated, honest | Coach through conflict |
| 3. Norming | Settled, trusting, open | Step back and support |
| 4. Performing | Confident, fast, focused | Delegate and develop |
| 5. Adjourning | Proud, wistful, unsettled | Close and celebrate |
Which stage of team development is your team in?
A quick check, not a diagnosis. Tick what is true most weeks, not on your best or worst day.
Tick every line that sounds like your team.
Your team’s likely stage shows here.
Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
For each of Tuckman's stages: what it is, how to spot it, what to do as the leader and one activity that fits.
1. Forming
The team is asking: “Why are we here, and where do I fit?”
The team is new, or newly changed. People are polite, a little guarded and looking to the leader for direction. Not much real work gets done yet, and that is normal.
Signs your team is here
- Meetings are polite and quiet; few people disagree out loud.
- Questions go to the manager, not to each other.
- Roles and goals are fuzzy, so people wait to be told.
- Some excitement, some anxiety about how they will be judged.
What the leader does
- State the goal and why it matters in one sentence everyone can repeat.
- Give each person a clear role and a first task they can finish.
- Set a few ground rules: meeting rhythm, response times, how decisions get made.
- Make time for people to learn about each other as people, not just job titles.
Activity that fits: Two truths and a lie. A low-risk way to share something personal. Ten minutes, works on a video call.
2. Storming
The team is asking: “Who decides, and do we agree on how?”
People start to push back: on the plan, on each other's working styles, sometimes on the leader. It feels like things are going wrong. Usually they are going right, as long as the conflict stays about the work.
Signs your team is here
- Disagreements in meetings, or worse, side conversations after them.
- Friction over workload, priorities or who owns what.
- Some people go quiet; a few dominate.
- Deadlines slip while the team argues about approach.
What the leader does
- Name the conflict out loud and treat it as normal, not as a failure.
- Keep arguments on the work: the plan, the trade-off, the data.
- Write team agreements together, so the rules belong to the team.
- Coach one to one; don't settle every dispute in front of the group.
Activity that fits: Team agreements. The team writes its own rules for disagreeing, deciding and asking for help.
3. Norming
The team is asking: “How do we work best together?”
The team settles on how it works. People accept each other's styles, give feedback more easily and start solving problems without the leader in the room.
Signs your team is here
- Teammates ask each other for help before asking the manager.
- Feedback is direct and taken well most of the time.
- Shared habits form: a standup that works, a doc everyone uses.
- People cover for each other when someone is out.
What the leader does
- Step back from daily decisions and let the team own them.
- Recognize good collaboration in public, not just good individual results.
- Protect the new habits; don't change the process just because you can.
- Watch for groupthink: ask who disagrees, and mean it.
Activity that fits: A free online escape room. A shared puzzle against the clock shows how well the new habits hold up.
4. Performing
The team is asking: “How far can we push this?”
The team is trusted, capable and mostly self-managing. Disagreements still happen, but they are fast and useful. The leader's job shifts to clearing the road and growing people.
Signs your team is here
- The team hits goals without being chased.
- Problems get raised early and fixed without drama.
- People step into each other's roles when needed.
- New ideas come from anywhere on the team.
What the leader does
- Delegate whole outcomes, not tasks.
- Remove blockers: budget, tools, approvals, other teams.
- Give stretch goals and development to the people who want them.
- Celebrate wins, so the pace stays sustainable.
Activity that fits: Pitch competition. A hard, creative challenge that a strong team enjoys and a new one would find stressful.
5. Adjourning
The team is asking: “What did we do, and what happens to us now?”
The project ends or the team breaks up: a launch ships, a reorg lands, people move on. Some feel proud, some feel a real sense of loss. This stage is sometimes called mourning.
Signs your team is here
- Energy drops as the finish line gets close.
- People worry about their next role or team.
- Loose ends pile up because nobody owns the wrap-up.
- Some people pull away early; others hold on.
What the leader does
- Close the work properly: hand-offs, documentation, a final review.
- Run a retrospective: what worked, what to repeat, what to drop.
- Thank people by name for specific things they did.
- Help each person land their next role or project.
Activity that fits: A farewell party. Mark the ending on purpose, with stories and thanks, instead of letting the team fade out.
Where Tuckman's stages of group development come from
In 1965, Bruce Tuckman published “Developmental sequence in small groups” in Psychological Bulletin. He reviewed earlier research on how small groups develop and summed it up in four stages that rhyme: forming, storming, norming and performing.
In 1977, Tuckman and Mary Ann Jensen revisited the model in “Stages of small-group development revisited” and added a fifth stage, adjourning, for the point where a group finishes its work and breaks up. That is why you will see both the four stages and the 5 stages in team development quoted.
The model was written about small groups in general, not just workplaces. Read it as a map, not a timetable: real teams loop back when people join or leave, and two parts of a team can sit in different stages at once.
How to move a team to the next stage
You can't skip stages, but you can get through them faster and with less damage.
- Find the stage honestly. Use the check above, then ask two people on the team the same question. If you disagree, believe them.
- Change your style, not the team. Forming needs direction, storming needs coaching, norming needs room, performing needs delegation. The mistake is leading every stage the same way.
- Pick one habit to build this month. Clear roles, team agreements, peer feedback or a retrospective. One habit done well moves a team further than five half-tried.
- Expect to slip back. A new hire, a new manager or a reorg can send a performing team back to forming or storming. That is not failure. Run the stage again, faster.
- Use activities with a purpose. Icebreakers for forming, agreements for storming, shared challenges for norming and performing, a proper send-off for adjourning.
Starting a team from scratch? See our new hire onboarding activities for the forming stage. Leading a group of managers through change? See leadership team building.
Want someone to run a session for your team?
A session run by an outside host lets the leader take part instead of facilitating. Our hosts run hour-long sessions on Zoom by default, or Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request. Book about 2 weeks ahead. For do-it-yourself options, see 32 workplace team building exercises and team bonding activities.
One for each stage: discovery for forming, psychological safety for storming, an escape room for norming and performing, gratitude for adjourning.
Send us your date and headcount and get a free quote within 24 hours.
