the project. They’re concerned with what they’ll have to do,
who’s on the team, how they’ll fit in with the others, how your
leadership style will affect them, and many other issues related
to starting a project.
Storming: In this stage, team members react to what they’ve
learned during the forming stage. They decide how much they
like the project objectives, their roles and responsibilities, and
the demands you’ve placed on them. Incidentally, they’re also
deciding how much they like youand your leadership style.
Norming:If any conflicts that arise during the storming stage
are handled properly, the team will advance to the norming
stage. Here, team members become reconciled with the project
and their role within it. They begin to focus much more on the
work to be done. Behavioral norms are developed and team
members begin to know what they can expect from others.
Performing: In this stage, work becomes nearly routine. Team
members work well together and produce high-quality results.
All members understand one another’s task responsibilities and
behavioral patterns. They solve problems, make decisions, and
communicate relatively smoothly.
Adjusting Your Team Leadership Style over Time
As the team evolves, so should your leadership style. Flexibility
is one of the most valuable assets you can possess. The con-
cept of flexible leadership works for both teams and individuals,
as we’ll see later in this chapter. Here’s how the models
86 Project Management
Beware of the Fifth Stage!
Some have enhanced the popular model above by adding a
fifth stage—Mourning. From my experience, you should
expect the team’s output to begin to falter. Some team members have
disappeared after completing their work; those who remain may
become preoccupied with “life after this project.” Team members (or
those remaining) scramble to complete the last few tasks, which may
not have been included in the original plan.This is a difficult time for
the project manager.