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PMP lesson · People & Team Leadership · Building the team · lesson 1 of 6 · about 7 minutes

Team development: the Tuckman stages

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Goal: After this lesson you can recognise each stage of team development and choose the right support for it, including when a team moves back a stage.

1The situation

A great team suddenly struggles

The robot cell team had been working smoothly for months: predictable, confident, few arguments. Then two experienced engineers joined from another division.

Within a week, meetings became tense, agreed conventions were questioned, and two pieces of work were delivered in inconsistent styles.

Nothing was “wrong” with the new people. The team had simply moved back a stage, and needed a different kind of support.

2Five stages

Bruce Tuckman described five stages most teams go through:

StageWhat it looks likeWhat the PM does
FormingPolite, unsure: “What is my role?”Give direction: goals, roles, team charter
StormingConflict, testing: “My way is better.”Coach: facilitate conflict, clarify agreements
NormingAgreement, trust: “This is how we work.”Support: reinforce norms, encourage
PerformingEffective, autonomous: “We can handle it.”Delegate: remove blockers, protect focus
AdjourningClosing, moving on: “What happens next?”Recognise, capture lessons, release well
Teams can move back to forming or storming when members change or a big change happens. Exam answer: help the team re-form, e.g. by revisiting working agreements together.

3The five stages

1 · Forming

Polite, unsure
“What is my role?”

PM: Give direction: goals, roles, team charter

2 · Storming

Conflict, testing
“My way is better.”

PM: Coach: facilitate conflict, clarify agreements

3 · Norming

Agreement, trust
“This is how we work.”

PM: Support: reinforce norms, encourage

4 · Performing

Effective, autonomous
“We can handle it.”

PM: Delegate: remove blockers, protect focus

5 · Adjourning

Closing, moving on
“What happens next?”

PM: Recognise, capture lessons, release well

↺ A new member, a reorganisation or a big change can send the team back to an earlier stage.

Each stage needs a different kind of leadership.

4How it looks on the exam

Exam-style question 1. A stable, high-performing agile team has just absorbed two experienced engineers. Discussions have become contentious, conventions are being questioned and work quality is inconsistent. What is the MOST appropriate action?
A. Remind the new engineers that existing conventions are not negotiable
B. Recognise that the team has likely moved back to an earlier stage and facilitate a session to revisit the working agreements together
C. Split the newcomers into a separate team
D. Increase the PM's code reviews
Show the answer and the decode
Answer: B.
In simple English
New members joined and the team is struggling.
What is the question really asking?
The best action.
Key words / trigger
“absorbed two experienced engineers … contentious”
PMP logic
Membership changes cause regression to storming; re-forming together restores norms.
Why the wrong answer looks attractive
Enforcing existing rules seems efficient, but agreements only work when the whole team owns them.

5Remember this

Your memory card

  • Forming → storming → norming → performing → adjourning
  • Leadership: direct → coach → support → delegate
  • Storming is normal; teams can move back after changes
  • Re-form by revisiting working agreements together
The full lesson in the PMCLEAR app also has:
  • the rest of the lesson (Leadership follows the stage)
  • a worked example
  • the common traps (wrong vs right)
  • 2 exam-style questions with the decode
  • a 3-question quick check
Open the full lesson → Create a free account
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