Thanks to a colleague at the practice for teaching me this that they learned whilst working at Capital One.
It's a life cycle of teams.
In the early stages it's exciting as the team starts to form together. Growth is exponential and there is nothing to measure performance against so everything looks good.
Norming is the 'numdrum' element that teams fall into either after they've finished forming, after they've finished storming or even after they've finished performing. There is only a slow death from norming unless you can re-enthuse things and re-invent things to push it in the other direction.
Performing is a good, steady level for sustainable growth - not exceptional and not amazing but it's not possible to be exceptional and amazing all the time.
Storming are those rare periods where everything clicks and runs together, massive leaps are made and everybody moves forward.
In the management of teams it's important to understand that we're all Sir Alex Ferguson - some players are playing well and some are not. Some are on form, some are off form. Some want a transfer out and some want a transfer in. This year's team will never be the same as last year's in the way it performs or even it's constituent parts, that's how it is. Deal with it or get out of the team.
Blog Post Number: 1014
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