In my 25+ year career in tech, I led three engineering teams at Google after many years as a tech lead in consulting. Over time, I began to realize that team building is one of my superpowers. Seeded in my MBA and fine tuned after years in the industry, I’ve put together my best practices, which I’ll share in this series of posts.
When I was getting my MBA, it seemed every class presented at least one theoretical model. The one that has stood out most to me throughout my career is Tuckman’s Model of Team Performance. I have seen this model play out hundreds of times, and I believe that understanding it gives you a rare glimpse into a team’s natural progression. It’s similar to a learning curve. It should be expected rather than feared. Or worse yet, a total lack of awareness of the model causes friction on the team, resentment and worse case – attrition.
I’ve designed this 4-part series to take you from the initial “honeymoon phase” of a new project (forming), all the way to a high-performing, self-organizing team. Whether you are a new manager or an Individual Contributor (IC), these posts will help you navigate team friction with a growth mindset.
Series Index: Navigating the Stages of Growth
- [Intro to Tuckman’s Model: The 5 Stages of a High-Performing Team]
- STATUS: ✅ LIVE
- An overview of the entire model—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Sprinkled throughout are Well-Being Reminders as certain stages of this cycle can be very challenging for some folks.
- [Getting Out of Storming: Turning Conflict into Growth]
- STATUS: ✅ LIVE
- Storming isn’t a bug in your leadership; it’s a condition of growth. We’ll explore, assuming good intent, and use the model to lower your heart rate when things get heated.
- [So Now You’re Performing… Maintaining the Zone]
- STATUS: Coming Soon
- High performance isn’t a steady state. Whether it’s a new team member, a new project, or a pivot in your tech stack, I’ll show you how to maintain effectiveness when you encounter changes.
- [The Human Element: How to Talk to Your Team]
- STATUS: Coming Soon
- At the end of the day, we are people first. This final post focuses on the actual conversations. How you can have transparent, supportive dialogues with your team members.
Which stage does your team feel like they’re in right now? Let’s chat and start debugging your team’s performance together.
I've spent over 25 years navigating the software engineering landscape—scaling teams, fostering well-being, and mentoring the next generation of technical leaders. After 6.5 years at Google, I built a coaching practice to help talented engineers and techies unlock their potential and build the momentum that transforms careers. I'm the coach who meets you at your pivotal moments and helps you make the most of them.
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