{"id":609,"date":"2026-06-18T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/?p=609"},"modified":"2026-08-22T07:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T14:10:12","slug":"tuckman_team_performance_series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/","title":{"rendered":"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide: A 5-Step Roadmap to Building A High Performing Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;ve put together my best practices, which I&#8217;ll share in this series of posts.<\/p>\n<p>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 <strong>Tuckman\u2019s Model of Team Performance<\/strong>. I have seen this model play out hundreds of times, and I believe that understanding it gives you a rare glimpse into a team&#8217;s natural progression. It\u2019s similar to a learning curve. It should be expected rather than feared.\u00a0 Or worse yet, a total lack of awareness of the model causes friction on the team, resentment and worse case &#8211; attrition.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve designed this 4-part series to take you from the initial &#8220;honeymoon phase&#8221; 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.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><!-- Series Index --><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"tuckman_index\"><strong>Series Index: Navigating the Stages of Growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/introducing-tuckmans-model-of-team-effectiveness\/\"><strong>[Intro to Tuckman\u2019s Model: The 5 Stages of a High-Performing Team]<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>STATUS: \u2705 LIVE<\/li>\n<li>An overview of the entire model\u2014Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Sprinkled throughout are Well-Being Reminders as certain stages of this cycle can be very challenging for some folks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman-storming-phase\/\"><strong>[Getting Out of Storming: Turning Conflict into Growth]<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>STATUS: \u2705 LIVE<\/li>\n<li>Storming isn&#8217;t a bug in your leadership; it\u2019s a condition of growth. We\u2019ll explore, assuming good intent, and use the model to lower your heart rate when things get heated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>[So Now You\u2019re Performing&#8230; Maintaining the Zone]<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>STATUS: Coming Soon<\/li>\n<li>High performance isn&#8217;t a steady state. Whether it\u2019s a new team member, a new project, or a pivot in your tech stack, I\u2019ll show you how to maintain effectiveness when you encounter changes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>[The Human Element: How to Talk to Your Team]<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>STATUS: Coming Soon<\/li>\n<li>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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Which stage does your team feel like they\u2019re in right now? <a href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/leedurmentor\/30-minute-coaching-intro-calls?utm_source=leenewman.us&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=posts&amp;utm_content=%22The%20xGoogle%20EM%E2%80%99s%20Guide%3A%20A%205-Step%20Roadmap%20to%20Building%20A%20High%20Performing%20Team%22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Let&#8217;s chat<\/a> and start debugging your team&#8217;s performance together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;ve put together my best practices, which I&#8217;ll share in this series of posts. When I was getting my MBA, it seemed every class presented at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,7],"tags":[30],"class_list":["post-609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-mental-health","tag-well-being-reminders"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide to High-Performing Teams: Tuckman\u2019s Model | Lee Newman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Human beings first, engineers second. Master Tuckman\u2019s Model with an xGoogle EM\u2019s 5-step roadmap to navigate team friction and reach high-impact performance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide to High-Performing Teams: Tuckman\u2019s Model | Lee Newman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Human beings first, engineers second. Master Tuckman\u2019s Model with an xGoogle EM\u2019s 5-step roadmap to navigate team friction and reach high-impact performance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lee Newman&#039;s Career Playbook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T13:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-22T14:10:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rowers.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1154\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"757\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lee Newman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lee Newman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lee Newman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d91c0d4bf1771b4c2fe235bbd1a40f16\"},\"headline\":\"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide: A 5-Step Roadmap to Building A High Performing Team\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T13:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-22T14:10:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":430,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d91c0d4bf1771b4c2fe235bbd1a40f16\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/rowers.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Well-Being-Reminders\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Communication\",\"Mental Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/\",\"name\":\"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide to High-Performing Teams: Tuckman\u2019s Model | Lee Newman\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/rowers.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T13:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-22T14:10:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Human beings first, engineers second. Master Tuckman\u2019s Model with an xGoogle EM\u2019s 5-step roadmap to navigate team friction and reach high-impact performance.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/rowers.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/rowers.png\",\"width\":1154,\"height\":757,\"caption\":\"team rowing together\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/tuckman_team_performance_series\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide: A 5-Step Roadmap to Building A High Performing Team\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lee's Coaching Library\",\"description\":\"Thrive in Tech. On Your Own Terms.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d91c0d4bf1771b4c2fe235bbd1a40f16\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d91c0d4bf1771b4c2fe235bbd1a40f16\",\"name\":\"Lee Newman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/library\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/lee-prof-2026.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/library\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/lee-prof-2026.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/library\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/lee-prof-2026.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1024,\"caption\":\"Lee Newman\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/library\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/lee-prof-2026.jpg\"},\"description\":\"I've spent over 25 years navigating the software engineering landscape\u2014scaling 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.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/lee-n-662879\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leenewman.us\\\/playbook\\\/author\\\/leedur337\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide to High-Performing Teams: Tuckman\u2019s Model | Lee Newman","description":"Human beings first, engineers second. Master Tuckman\u2019s Model with an xGoogle EM\u2019s 5-step roadmap to navigate team friction and reach high-impact performance.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide to High-Performing Teams: Tuckman\u2019s Model | Lee Newman","og_description":"Human beings first, engineers second. Master Tuckman\u2019s Model with an xGoogle EM\u2019s 5-step roadmap to navigate team friction and reach high-impact performance.","og_url":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/","og_site_name":"Lee Newman&#039;s Career Playbook","article_published_time":"2026-06-18T13:00:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-22T14:10:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1154,"height":757,"url":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rowers.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Lee Newman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lee Newman","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/"},"author":{"name":"Lee Newman","@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/#\/schema\/person\/d91c0d4bf1771b4c2fe235bbd1a40f16"},"headline":"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide: A 5-Step Roadmap to Building A High Performing Team","datePublished":"2026-06-18T13:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-22T14:10:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/"},"wordCount":430,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/#\/schema\/person\/d91c0d4bf1771b4c2fe235bbd1a40f16"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rowers.png","keywords":["Well-Being-Reminders"],"articleSection":["Communication","Mental Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/","url":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/","name":"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide to High-Performing Teams: Tuckman\u2019s Model | Lee Newman","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rowers.png","datePublished":"2026-06-18T13:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-22T14:10:12+00:00","description":"Human beings first, engineers second. Master Tuckman\u2019s Model with an xGoogle EM\u2019s 5-step roadmap to navigate team friction and reach high-impact performance.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rowers.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rowers.png","width":1154,"height":757,"caption":"team rowing together"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/tuckman_team_performance_series\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The xGoogle EM\u2019s Guide: A 5-Step Roadmap to Building A High Performing Team"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/#website","url":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/","name":"Lee's Coaching Library","description":"Thrive in Tech. On Your Own Terms.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/#\/schema\/person\/d91c0d4bf1771b4c2fe235bbd1a40f16"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/#\/schema\/person\/d91c0d4bf1771b4c2fe235bbd1a40f16","name":"Lee Newman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lee-prof-2026.jpg","url":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lee-prof-2026.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lee-prof-2026.jpg","width":1024,"height":1024,"caption":"Lee Newman"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lee-prof-2026.jpg"},"description":"I've spent over 25 years navigating the software engineering landscape\u2014scaling 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.","sameAs":["https:\/\/leenewman.us","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/lee-n-662879\/"],"url":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/author\/leedur337\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":667,"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609\/revisions\/667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leenewman.us\/playbook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}