Tuckman Ladder

Five Stages of Team Development

The five stages of team development in the Tuckman Ladder are:

• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning

These stages are described in the table below.

Key Points about Tuckman Ladder

Some key points to note are:

• Usually the stages occur in order.
• But teams can get stuck in a particular stage or regress to an earlier stage.
• Projects with team members who worked together in the past might skip a stage.
• The duration of a particular stage depends upon team dynamics, team size, and team leadership.
• Project managers should have a good understanding of team dynamics in order to move their team members through all stages in an effective manner.
• Project managers need to adapt their leadership styles according to the stage of team development.
• The stages are situational and do not follow in sequence; for example, the team goes back to the forming stage when a new team member joins.

Leadership Style Mapping

The table below summarizes the five stages of the Tuckman Ladder, and the leadership styles appropriate for each stage. The header shows the five stages of team development in the Tuckman Ladder. The footer shows the leadership style that the project manager adopts in these stages.