# The Four Stages of Team Growth ## Video Version {% embed url="" %} Credit: Tech Fleet {% endembed %} ## Teams Earn Progress through Conflict Resolution Most people think teams that work well together start immediately working well together. But it's not possible to do so without resolving conflict. After all, [it's not about their skill levels.](https://guide.techfleet.org/agile-training-portal/agile-handbook/agile-teamwork/making-strong-agile-teams/prioritizing-growth-over-skills) Teammates have different experiences and different perspectives. Teammates have different ways of working and different lessons learned from the past. When they get together, those past experiences and perspectives may clash. This is the natural progression through the team growth process.   Teams must provide room for respect and growth before being able to produce work efficiently together. They must hear each other, and acknowledge each other. They can't be in competition with each other. ## There are Four Stages of Teamwork The moment a team gets together, they go through "stages of being". [Academic professionals theorized](https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development) that there are four stages of every team's development. Every single team in the world goes through four stages of team work. 1. Forming 2. Storming 3. Norming 4. Performing

There are four stages of teamwork that all teams go through: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Credit: MIT https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development

It's only when they start performing that they work well, efficiently deliver,  produce more work, and are happy in their work.  First we'll learn about the stages of teamwork. In later lessons, we'll learn about how [agile teams build their foundations](https://guide.techfleet.org/agile-training-portal/agile-handbook/agile-teamwork/making-strong-agile-teams) to maintain their Performing stage of work together. ## Team Behavior in the Four Stages
The Forming Stage ## The Forming Stage During the Forming stage, the team first gets together, and doesn’t have a common way of working established yet, but they meet each other. ### Tasks 1. A team kickoff 2. Ice breakers 3. Expectation setting ### Feelings 1. Excitement 2. Belonging 3. Cheer 4. Positivity 5. Confidence 6. Nervousness 7. Anxiety ### Behaviors 1. Being polite with each other 2. Questions from team members 3. Acting excitedly 4. Uncertainty about the future 5. Anxiety about their place on the team
The Storming Stage ## The Storming Stage During the Storming stage, the team starts figuring out how they should be working together, and this happens through talking out disagreements ### Tasks 1. Defining short-term action items based on goals 2. Starting work 3. Deciding how to work together ### Feelings 1. Anxiety about whether the team can do what they are set out to do 2. Anger about the lack of progress 3. Frustration about the lack of progress ### Behaviors 1. Arguing about how to work together, and about decisions 2. Conflict and discussing differences of opinion 3. Discussing how to start in the work and the goals of the work 4. Criticizing team mates’ decisions 5. Questioning the future of the team
The Norming Stage ## The Norming Stage During the Norming phase, team members resolve their differences, and align in how to work together. They start making agreements in how they should produce the work in collaboration and proceed in the work. ### Tasks 1. Agreeing to work process 2. Discussing and building consensus 3. Collective teamwork 4. Focusing on aligning goals ### Feelings 1. Confidence 2. Inclusion 3. Comfort ### Behaviors 1. Building Consensus with team mates 2. Constructive criticism 3. Harmoniously working together 4. Being willing to hear people and work together 5. Celebrating team mates for what they bring to the table
The Performing Stage ## The Performing Stage During the Performing phase, members work efficiently together, and are satisfied in their work together. They work well, and are more aligned than ever in the work. ### Tasks 1. Aligning on goals 2. Planning long-term work 3. Deepening knowledge 4. Increasing skills 5. Increasing accomplishments ### Feelings 1. Satisfaction in the work 2. “Can Do” attitude 3. Increased confidence 4. Empowerment Happiness ### Behaviors 1. Getting more work done 2. More flexibility in the work 3. Team mates take on multiple roles of responsibility 4. Team members feel empowered 5. Appreciation for work and for others
## Storming is Essential Without Storming, a team wouldn't be able to progress to performing. They need to build agreement with each other, and hear each other. They need to build a consensus about how they will work together and what they decide to work on. Teams should embrace storming as a natural part of team building.  Most importantly, they need to respect diverse perspectives and people. They need to help each other grow. They need to fail forward together. They need to unify. In order to get over the Storming stage, Agile teams must bring the following fundamentals to their group: 1. Psychological Safety 2. Service Leadership 3. Self-Organization 4. Continuous Improvement When they do, they will move past Storming and progress toward Norming and Performing.  They will start iteratively delivering value like the best Agile teams out there.

This is the foundation of strong agile teams: psychological safety, service leadership, self-organization, and continuous improvement. Credit: Tech Fleet.

Learn more about these key fundamentals of self-actualized Agile teams in the next lesson. ## Head to the Next Lesson --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://guide.techfleet.org/agile-training-portal/agile-handbook/agile-teamwork/making-strong-agile-teams/the-four-stages-of-team-growth.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.