A Leader’s Role in Team Development

Revathi Turaga*

In organizations, for teams to be effective and high-performing, the team

members must be able to work together to contribute collectively to their
given targets. But this does not happen automatically, and develops over
time slowly as the team works together. Initially, the team members are
not a cohesive group; they are just individuals who are placed together
and asked to achieve certain results. Over time, through a process of
continuous learning and development, they begin to operate as a team,
instead of a group of individuals. For leaders, understanding the stages
of team development enables them to get teams started, resolve conflicts
more smoothly, share information effectively, achieve top results, and then
review outcomes to keep finding ways to improve. This paper ventures to
give some insights into the same.

Team work begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome
our need for invulnerability.
– Patrick Lencioni

Introduction
Remember those times in school or college where you were put on a team to work on
a school assignment or project. When your team first got together, you probably sat
around, looking at each other, not knowing how to begin. Slowly, you got to know
each other, and came to know what to expect from each other, how to divide the work
tasks, and how to coordinate well with each other.
This process of learning to work together effectively is known as team development.
Research has shown that teams go through definitive stages during development.
To improve teamwork and help teams in organizations become more efficient,
Tuckman (1965), an educational psychologist, in 1965 and 1977,1 identified and
published a five-stage development process that most teams follow to become high-

* Director, Revathi Online Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd., International Trainer and Inspirational Speaker,
Hyderabad, Telangana, India. E-mail: [email protected]
1
https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development/

© 2022 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

60 The IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2022
performing. He called the stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, (Egolf and
Chester, 2013) (Figure 1) and adjourning.

Figure 1: Stages of Team Development

Performing

Norming

Tuckman Model
Storming

Forming

Source: https://manpreet24.files.wordpress.com/; and Tuckman (1965)

Tuckman maintained that all the stages are necessary for a team to go through in
order for it to grow, face up to challenges, tackle issues, find solutions, plan and deliver
results.
Team members tend to show certain traits and behaviors in each stage, and each
stage has its own highs and lows; in each stage, individuals assume the roles as needed,
and slowly through the stages, get to know and understand and adapt with each other.

Tuckman’s Five Stages of Development

A brief description of each stage is given below:
Forming: This first stage is all about getting to know each other. It is the first step in
the transition from being a group of people to a properly functioning team. During this
stage, members slowly get to know each other, get comfortable with each other and
start to build the strings of confidence and the bonds of trust in each other as well
as with their leader. Of course, this is also the stage where people start to understand
each other and the initial bonds of trust (Lencioni, 2000) are built.
Storming: As people start to get comfortable with each other in the forming stage, they
soon start to voice out their opinions and ideas easily. This leads to a number of

A Leader’s Role in Team Development 61

viewpoints and thus begins the storming stage (Figure 2). Here, the team members can
be defensive or questioning about various other team members and the management too.
This is the stage where the conflicts and potential conflicts in a team surface and the
team is given a chance to resolve them effectively.

Figure 2: Through the Stages

Performing is characterized by team members’ interdependence

• The team is dedicated to successfully completing tasks
• Successful development of norms allows teams to handle stressful deadlines
• Cooperation and collective decision making enables the team to focus on performance
Norming is characterized by cohesive interpersonal relationships
• Ground rules and norms are established
• Conflict is reduced as team members organize to work on tasks Performing
• Team members’ cohesiveness and confidence increases
• Social relations develop to create a team identity
• Team interactions are based on trust and support
• Team members discuss and negotiate differences constructively

Storming is characterized by competition, conflict, and organization of

tasks Norming
• Team members may have different opinions on how to accomplish
goals
• Conflicts may promote deeper understanding of others’ perspective
• Team works through issues to determine how to pursue goals
• Successful teams manage relationship and task-oriented issues

Storming Adjourning

Stages of Team Development

Adjourning is characterized by termination of relationships
• Teams end when tasks are completed
Forming • Team members may experience various emotions as
relationships end
• Team may focus on performance evaluations, processes and
procedures
Forming is characterized by dependent personal relationships • Team members may celebrate success or learn from
where team members experiences
• Get to know each other and learn how to function as a team
• Are well-mannered, tentative, and compliant
• May feel confused, inhibited, uncomfortable, and uncertain
• Focus on defining goals and planning tasks

Note: Teams may return to earlier stages of development.

Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/

This stage in a team’s evolution can get to be a very emotionally charged time for
many of the team members, (Figure 2), so a leader may need to develop the ability to
read between the lines and get an understanding of how the team is progressing.
Norming: As a successful team solves the various conflicts constructively, it starts
moving into the norming stage. In this stage, the members slowly become used to
working with each other. Conflicts are lesser and the team members start to work more
productively and comfortably with each other to accomplish goals. This is the stage
where a team starts representing what experts call a well-oiled machine. The team
members adapt to each other and create a working synergy.
Performing: As a team matures, it smoothly starts to accomplish a significant amount
of work easily and effortlessly. In this performing stage, all the team members easily
participate and collaborate with each other effectively and independently by working

62 The IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2022

with each other without needing to put in a conscious effort. In the performing stage,
the team members tend to complement each other to achieve results.
Adjourning: Here, most of the team’s goals have been accomplished and emphasis
is on wrapping up final tasks and documenting the efforts and results. Teams
complete their project and team members review what went well and what could
be improved for future projects. Then they move on to new projects (Alsever et al.,
2014). This may or may not happen to all teams; especially if there are ongoing
responsibilities, then the team may stay in place, with some members joining and
some leaving over time.

Leader’s Role in Each Stage

As teams go through certain phases and stages as they evolve (Figure 3), learning about
the stages in team growth helps a leader (Gaurav, 2014) to help the team to grow
together.

Figure 3: Leader’s Role in Stages of Team Development

Bruce Tuckman’s Model of Team Development

Stage Characteristics Team Leader Role

Forming Team meets (formation); begins Outlines mission; looks for

collective work agreement on team roles,
rules, guidelines for
decision-making
Storming Team deals with Facilitates discussion; ensures
confusion and conflict common understanding of
over goals, decision- agreements
making, roles and control
Norming Team accepts goals, roles, rules; Encourages norming process;
works positively supports and coaches;
celebrates success
Performing Team focuses on achieving goals; Encourages high performance;
personal growth for team members; facilitates communication;
conflict handled positively celebrates success

Note: University of Wales, 2016.

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/

Forming Stage
In the forming stage, there can be tendencies of individuals not being comfortable with
each other or the organization’s policies, not being able to focus the discussion properly
on relevant points, not speaking out too much, and having lesser interactions with each
other.

A Leader’s Role in Team Development 63

 As a leader, it is critical to help the team to get to know each other and work with
them through this phase in a very positive and nurturing way. In this stage, a leader
needs to consistently do some of the following points:
• Open communication channels in the team
• Keep information flow transparent
• Define the purpose and goals of the team
• Clarify roles and responsibilities

Storming Stage
The storming stage can be a difficult and challenging stage for a team. During this stage,
a leader dons multiple roles, including that of a mediator, a motivator, and sometimes
even a counsellor. In this stage, a leader needs to consistently do some of the following
points:
• Resolve conflicts constructively
• Understand decision-making processes
• Appreciate the differences in each other
• Be sensitive to non-verbal communication
• Exhibit respect for individuals
• Be assertive

Norming Stage
In the norming stage, the leader needs to continue to find opportunities to sustain and
transition trust by encouraging and recognizing both the individual and the group
achievements. S/he needs to have consistent communication within the group and with
self. In this stage, a leader needs to consistently do some of the following points:
• Have regular one-on-one and team meetings
• Adapt one’s styles by understanding others’
• Informal team events and team-building activities
• Big picture and milestone progress

Performing Stage
By the time the team reaches the performing stage, the teamwork or even leadership
will start to appear very effortless. The team has an ease within itself and follows
established processes and has consistent communication happening seamlessly. Some
of the points that a leader can execute in this stage so as to create an environment of
trust and synergy include:

64 The IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2022

 • Communication in the team
• Creating ownership within individuals
• Effective delegation
• Celebrating successes

Adjourning Stage
Leaders need to be able to put review mechanisms in place. Teams complete their project
and team members review what went well and what could be improved for future
projects. Then they move on to new projects.

Conclusion
Each stage of team development has its own recognizable feelings and behaviors.
Understanding why things are happening in certain ways in your team can be an
important part of the self-evaluation process.
The five stages are a helpful framework for recognizing a team’s behavioral patterns
and to have conversations. And just as learning about human development helps us
manage people better, so also understanding team development helps to identify and
understand the causes for changes in the team behaviors and guide the team to maximize
its process and productivity.

References
1. Alsever Jennifer, Hempel Jessi, Taylor III Alex and Roberts Daniel (2014), “6 Great
Teams that Take Care of Business,” Fortune, April 10, http://fortune.com/2014/04/
10/6-great-teams-that-take-care-of-business/
2. Egolf Donald and Chester Sondra (2013), Forming Storming Norming Performing:
Successful Communication in Groups and Teams, 3rd Edition, iUniverse Publishers,
June 24.
3. Gaurav Aarti (2014), Leadership + Teamwork = Success, 1st Edition, Buzzingstock
Publishing House, January 1.
4. Lencioni Patrick (2006), The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, 1st Edition, Wiley India
Pvt Ltd., January 9.
5. Tuckman Bruce (1965), “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups”, Psychological
Bulletin, Vol. 63, No. 6, pp. 384-399.

Reference # 50J-2022-12-04-01

A Leader’s Role in Team Development 65

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