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Last week, I was having a conversation with a ScrumMaster about teams and the Tuckman Model came up. From the blank look on this person’s face, it was clear that they had never heard of the Tuckman Model before which is surprising since ScrumMasters should be knowledgable on team dynamics and the steps each Team has to take in order to reach high-performance.
Since I took a minute to explain who Bruce Tuckman was, the research he did and the importance of this model for ScrumMasters, I thought I would share with Tuckman’s steps with all of you. Please note, the original research only included four steps and Tuckman added a fifth step after working to understand how teams close.
So what is the ScrumMaster responsibility in all of this? The ScrumMaster has the responsibility to guide and support the Team through Storming. Storming is hard, but can be shortened with the aid of the ScrumMaster’s facilitative and communication skills. During Norming, the ScrumMaster helps the Team find their Vision, establishes healthy patterns of behavior and lays the foundations for the Performing stage. Performing is the ultimate goal of Scrum, but not all Teams have what it takes to reach this state. Performing is normally an emergent characteristic of the Team and is a result of all the connections the ScrumMaster works to make between the Team members in Norming. Once in Performing, the ScrumMaster needs to be vigilant and protect the Team from forces external (and internal) that strive to knock the Team from this stage.
Adjourning is not talked about much since it handled so terrible by most organizations – the Team is just ended. However, I feel that in this stage the ScrumMaster has much to do. During Adjourning, the ScrumMaster is helping the Team transition from a focus on their group identity to their identity as individuals. This is the time to remember the successes, relive the challenges the Team overcame and to say “good-bye” to Team members and the Team.