What is the correct order of the four-stage process that teams progress through to reach high performance?

What is the correct order of the four-stage process that teams progress through to reach high performance?

• A. Stage one - storming; stage two - forming; stage three - norming; stage four - performing
• B. Stage one - forming; stage two - storming; stage three - norming; stage four - performing
• C. Stage one - forming; stage two - norming; stage three - storming; stage four - performing
• D. Stage one - forming; stage two - performing; stage three - norming; stage four - storming

Answer: (B)

Teams move through stages of development in this order: forming, storming, norming, performing. In forming, members meet and begin to understand the task and each other. Storming follows as disagreements and questions about leadership and roles surface, creating conflicts that must be resolved. Once these differences are worked through, the group enters norming, where norms, processes, and stronger relationships emerge, and members start to cooperate more effectively. Finally, performing occurs when the team operates with clarity, trust, and high collaboration to achieve its goals. This is why the sequence forming → storming → norming → performing fits best. The other options disrupt the natural flow—storming before forming isn’t possible without initial formation, norming before storming skips the conflict that leads to cohesion, and performing before establishing norms and processes doesn’t reflect how teams build capability to work well together.

Teams move through stages of development in this order: forming, storming, norming, performing. In forming, members meet and begin to understand the task and each other. Storming follows as disagreements and questions about leadership and roles surface, creating conflicts that must be resolved. Once these differences are worked through, the group enters norming, where norms, processes, and stronger relationships emerge, and members start to cooperate more effectively. Finally, performing occurs when the team operates with clarity, trust, and high collaboration to achieve its goals.

This is why the sequence forming → storming → norming → performing fits best. The other options disrupt the natural flow—storming before forming isn’t possible without initial formation, norming before storming skips the conflict that leads to cohesion, and performing before establishing norms and processes doesn’t reflect how teams build capability to work well together.