Agile Mindset for Manufacturers: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing

The Action Engineering team embraces an Agile mindset & Scrum practices in our work.
In our Agile articles, we share tips & coaching opportunities that work well for us. 

Bruce Tuckman proposed the “forming-storming-norming-performing” model of group development back in the 1960s. Tuckman stated that all of these phases are necessary and ultimately inevitable if a team wishes to grow, be able to face headwinds, creatively develop solutions, and deliver results.

Each time a team member leaves a team or a new member joins the team, the group development cycle starts back at forming. Traditional project teams that are run in the waterfall methodology can often get stuck in the storming or norming phases, as team members are reluctant to change the status quo.

Scrum is built on the principle of self-organizing teams where experimentation is encouraged. Scrum teams often progress through the group development model quicker than traditional teams since there is less structure and hierarchy enforcement.

The Dancing Guy Leadership Lesson applies well to group development. At first, a team can be disorganized and the vision isn’t clear. But once the team goes through all four stages and is performing, everyone is working towards a movement and is ‘grooving’ together.

Are you ready to be the “dancing guy” at your manufacturing company and embrace Agile? Send us a message – we’re here to help you gain the courage to go from being the ‘lone nut’ to gaining a crowd of followers.