Tuckman Stages Exercise

Purpose

The Tuckman Stages Exercise helps a team locate itself on the Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing arc and understand the behaviours typical of each phase. This awareness enables the team to normalise friction, anticipate challenges, and take deliberate steps toward higher performance.

At a glance

How to run

1. Present the model (10 min): Walk through the four (or five, including Adjourning) stages. For each, describe typical behaviours, emotions, and team dynamics. Use a simple visual timeline.
2. Individual placement (5 min): Each person privately marks where they think the team currently is on a printed timeline.
3. Reveal & discuss (15 min): Everyone places their marker on a shared poster. Discuss: Are placements clustered or spread? What evidence supports different views? What stage-specific behaviours do we recognise?
4. Stage-appropriate actions (10 min): Based on the consensus (or majority) stage, brainstorm 2–3 actions the team can take to progress. E.g., if Storming: establish norms and safe conflict practices.
5. Close (5 min): Each person names one commitment aligned with the agreed actions.

Materials needed

• Tuckman stages poster or slide
• Printed timeline strips for individual marking
• Sticky dots for placement
• Markers and flipchart for actions

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Assuming linear progression: Teams can regress (e.g., a new member resets the team to Forming). Discuss this.
• Stigmatising Storming: Conflict is healthy and necessary. Frame Storming as a sign of engagement, not failure.
• Using the model prescriptively: It is a lens, not a mandate. Some teams skip stages or cycle.
• No action after diagnosis: Identifying the stage is only useful if the team acts on it.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Provide descriptions of each stage in writing, not just verbally.
• Allow private placement before public reveal to reduce conformity pressure.
• Use language-neutral symbols alongside stage names.
• In remote settings, use a digital slider or poll for placement.

Variations

• Retrospective lens: Map past project phases to Tuckman stages and discuss what helped transitions.
• Sub-team view: If the team has sub-groups, map each separately and compare.
• Leadership focus: Discuss what leadership style each stage requires (directing, coaching, supporting, delegating).

When NOT to use this

• When the team has been together less than 2 weeks — there is not enough shared experience to assess.
• When the model is already well-known and over-used — consider a fresh framework like Drexler-Sibbet.
• When the exercise might be used to blame individuals for being "the reason we’re stuck in Storming."

Source & further reading

• Bruce Tuckman, "Developmental Sequence in Small Groups" (Psychological Bulletin, 1965)
• Susan Wheelan, *Creating Effective Teams* (SAGE, 2014)
• Patrick Lencioni, *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team* (Jossey-Bass, 2002)