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Is Your Team Broken or Just Growing?
Why Your Team Might Suck (For Now). Most teams don’t fail—they stall. Here’s how to diagnose what stage your team’s in, push through the mess, and actually get to high performance (without the trust falls).
Basil Choudhry
February 03, 2025
In partnership with
A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him.
The fastest way to drive change, impact, and results in your marketing organization is through the team you build. Weak links, delayed tough decisions, and tolerated underperformance quietly erode effectiveness. Strong teams don’t just happen—they’re built with intention and accountability.
Bruce Tuckman didn’t invent team dysfunction, he just gave it stages: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing—and later, Adjourning, for when the band breaks up. Think of it as the lifecycle of every team you've ever been on, from “polite strangers” to “functional adults” (if you’re lucky).
Forming: Everyone’s nice. Too nice. Smiles, handshakes, passive-aggressive Slack emojis. No one knows what they’re doing yet, but hey—great vibes.
Storming: The honeymoon’s over. Ego clashes, missed deadlines, “misaligned expectations.” This is where fragile teams break. Strong ones? They get scrappy, fight it out, and find clarity.
Norming: Miraculously, people stop arguing and start working. Roles click, processes stick, and the team starts to feel like—dare we say it—an actual team.
Performing: The promised land. Everyone’s in sync, decisions are fast, output’s high. This phase feels easy because you survived the hard stuff.
Adjourning: Project’s done. Team disbands. Some people cry (awkward), some don’t look back. Either way, it’s over.
Why this matters?
Most teams stall in Storming because leaders mistake conflict for failure. It’s not. It’s growth, wrapped in discomfort. Push through it. The only way to Performing is straight through the mess.
So, when you’re evaluating your team, ask: are we bad at teaming—or just in the middle of getting good?
Tuckman’s Model in Action: A Field Guide for Marketing Leaders
Step 1:
Quick & Dirty Team Audit
Clarity Check:
Does everyone know exactly what success looks like?
Can each team member articulate their role without rambling?
Conflict Temperature:
Are disagreements happening? (If not, that’s a red flag.)
When conflict happens, do people avoid, explode, or resolve it constructively?
Process Pulse:
Are workflows smooth or do projects feel like reinventing the wheel every time?
Are deadlines real deadlines, or “suggestions”?
Cohesion Test:
Do people trust each other to deliver—or is there constant micromanaging?
Is there genuine collaboration, or just polite coordination?
Performance Litmus:
Is the team self-sufficient, or do you (the leader) have to play firefighter every week?
Are results consistent—or a series of lucky flukes?
Step 2:
Diagnose Your Stage
Mostly “Yes” in Clarity but “No” in Conflict? You’re stuck in Forming—playing nice, but nothing’s real yet.
Lots of “Yes” in Conflict, “No” in Process & Cohesion? Welcome to Storming—it’s messy, but necessary.
Process & Cohesion are solid, Conflict is healthy, but Performance wobbles? You’re Norming—almost there, but fragile.
Consistent “Yes” across the board? You’re Performing—enjoy it, but don’t get complacent.
Team disbanding soon? That’s Adjourning—focus on knowledge transfer and graceful exits.
Step 3:
Stage-Specific Remedies
Forming → Establish Clarity & Safety
Set crystal-clear goals. Ambiguity breeds awkwardness.
Define roles in black-and-white terms. No “gray area” responsibilities.
Create space for real talk early—icebreakers are dead; candid convos are in.
Storming → Normalize Conflict & Set Rules
Call out conflict avoidance as the real problem.
Introduce simple frameworks (e.g., “disagree and commit”).
Facilitate open retros: What’s working? What’s broken? No blame, just facts.
Norming → Reinforce Processes & Ownership
Document what’s working. Rely less on “tribal knowledge.”
Empower team leads—shift from directing to coaching.
Guard against regression. Celebrate wins and dissect failures.
Performing → Optimize & Challenge
Introduce stretch goals to avoid complacency.
Rotate responsibilities to keep skills sharp.
Focus on scaling—what processes can survive without you?
Adjourning → Exit with Impact
Debrief lessons learned—capture playbooks, not just results.
Recognize contributions publicly. Closure matters more than you think.
Help team members transition smoothly—retain talent within the org if possible.
The Long Reed: Deeper-Dive
Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last is a powerful exploration of what makes great leaders—and how they create environments where people feel safe, valued, and inspired to give their best. This book is your guide to building stronger, more human-centred leadership, covering:
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