“The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likable. In three days no one could stand him.”

This delicious quote from Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 made me think about Tuckman’s team development model. Yes, it might have been created in 1965, but it still so often holds true today. You know … that first day or week feeling of starting a new job/moving into a new team (forming) when the bubble soon bursts and you get a better grip on what people are really like (potential storming)? You’ve been there, surely?

I’m always intrigued by what the “norming” stage looks like – a necessary rite of passage before we can even get to performing. And also how the contribution of the leader is pivotal to enabling this.