How Do Typical Teams Grow? The Agile Leadership Way

We’ve all heard of Bruce Tuckman’s team development model, but teams don’t grow as neatly as this. There’s a lot of zig-zagging between the stages, often making it feel like you're on a rollercoaster with extra loops. In an agile environment, these stages take on new depth. The key? Agile leadership knows how to adapt to each stage without forcing the process.

In the beginning, a team is like a group of strangers on a reality show, they're all there for a reason, but no one knows what anyone else is good at (or if they’ll eat the last donut in the break room without asking). Agile leaders at this stage are facilitators, helping everyone connect, setting the tone for collaboration, and, most importantly, creating psychological safety. People are learning their roles, figuring out what tools to use, and realizing Bob in accounting has a really dry sense of humor.

In 2016, Spotify famously adopted the Agile Squad Model, where teams ("squads") were allowed to self-organize. Spotify’s leadership, rather than micro-managing, encouraged the squads to experiment, fail fast, and learn quicker. This freedom in the forming stage helped Spotify innovate at a rapid pace, turning what could have been awkward team formations into dynamic, creative collaborations.

Ah, storming. The part of the process where tensions rise and personalities clash. Think of it like your typical family holiday dinner, everyone’s talking, but nobody’s really listening. Agile leadership here requires empathy and conflict resolution. It’s not about suppressing disagreements but facilitating healthy debates, so the team can learn to resolve issues constructively.

As an agile leader, this is when you break out your "Agile Leader Toolkit" (yup, the actual book!). Here, you’re part coach, part referee, keeping the team on track while allowing enough freedom for everyone to express their ideas. Leaders focus on feedback loops, establishing transparency, and encouraging the team to work through their growing pains.

At Zappos, the culture of "Holacracy" (an organizational structure based on self-management) went through serious growing pains in the storming phase. When Zappos transitioned from traditional hierarchies to this new model, chaos erupted. However, by allowing team members to directly resolve their issues and embrace collective decision-making, the team emerged stronger, transforming friction into better alignment.

Things start to smooth out in the norming phase, finally, right? The team begins to develop its rhythm, and everyone knows who’s responsible for what (and that Bob won’t touch the last donut after all). Agile leadership here is about empowering the team, giving them the tools and autonomy to operate without constant oversight. You’ve built trust, and now you get to sit back and watch your team members step into their roles with confidence.

Leaders who step in too much during this phase risk undoing the team’s hard-won autonomy. Instead, agile leaders focus on being servant leaders, removing obstacles, and letting the team make decisions that will lead them towards achieving their goals.

Take Google’s Project Aristotle. Google conducted a study on what makes teams effective, and one of the top findings was the importance of psychological safety. Teams that had open communication and a shared sense of purpose thrived during the norming phase. Google’s leaders fostered this environment by giving teams the freedom to explore ideas while ensuring that no one person dominated the conversation, creating a norm of mutual respect and collaboration.

The performing phase is like when your team becomes the Avengers, everyone knows their strengths and weaknesses, and they’re working together like a well-oiled machine. Agile leadership now takes on a supporting role, acting as the "guide on the side" rather than the "sage on the stage."

At this point, teams are usually running their own retrospectives, identifying problems before they escalate, and continuously improving their workflows. The leader’s role here is to keep the momentum going, fostering an environment of continuous improvement and growth.

At Netflix, the performing phase is embodied in their famous "Freedom and Responsibility" culture. Employees are trusted to make decisions without excessive oversight, allowing the company to innovate rapidly. Agile leadership at Netflix focuses on setting clear expectations, encouraging risk-taking, and trusting teams to perform at their best. The results? A company that consistently disrupts the entertainment industry.

Just when you think your team’s hit the big leagues, BAM!, sudden regression. Maybe new team members join, or the team takes on a project that throws everyone off their game. The team may fall back into storming behaviors or need to revisit their norms.

Agile leadership here means flexibility and resilience. You’ll need to recognize the signs of regression and help the team refocus on their goals without falling into panic mode. Teams need a leader who can help them navigate setbacks with humor and patience.

At Buffer, the company’s radical transparency and emphasis on remote work has led to some regressive moments, especially as they scaled. Team dynamics shifted, and leadership had to recalibrate how they communicated and maintained a sense of unity. By acknowledging these regressions, Buffer was able to pivot and adjust, keeping their teams performing even when new challenges arose.

In agile teams, growth is never linear, it’s a cycle of learning, adapting, and continuously improving. Agile leaders understand this and approach each phase of team development with a unique mindset: facilitator in forming, mediator in storming, coach in norming, and supporter in performing.

The best agile leaders, like good gardeners, know when to step in and when to step back. They create environments where teams can grow organically, trust each other, and innovate fearlessly.

And if you’ve learned anything from this, let it be that every team, whether in tech, customer service, or an edtech startup like edureerh, as its ups and downs. But with the right leadership (and perhaps a well-timed joke), any team can grow into something truly amazing.

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