Libby Johnson: Hello, everyone. And thanks for joining this week's podcast. I'm Libby Johnson, Director of Learning and Development. And today, I want to talk about something we all experience, no matter your role, your department, or how long you've been at SJRMC.

You know that moment when you're trying to put together a piece of IKEA furniture, and everyone involved has a different idea of how that should go? One person reads every step before the box is even open. Maybe one person is holding a screwdriver and they're waiting for instructions. Yet another person is counting the screws to make sure you're not short on materials before you even begin. And yet another person, you know who they are, is already improvising because this clearly goes here, right? And then, miraculously by about step 14, it just sort of starts working. And you look around and you think, "Wow, if we had started with this level of coordination, everything would've been so easy." Well, that's exactly how human teams form, not just work teams, but every group you're a part of: your unit, your office, your project team, your committee, sometimes even your family on Thanksgiving. And the good news, there's a science behind why it feels like chaos at first, and why that chaos is normal, healthy, and actually leading us somewhere.

Back in the 1960s, a psychologist named Bruce Tuckman noticed that groups move through predictable phases when they come together as teams. His model is simple, but it explains so much of what we experience as human beings working together. The phases that he noticed are forming, storming, norming, and performing. We'll walk through each one in human language, not psychology jargon, because you don't need to be an expert to recognize these in your daily life.

 Phase one is forming, or as I like to call it, the who-are-these-people phase. Forming is the honeymoon. It's the polite stage. It's when we're all in our best behavior and no one really wants to rock the boat. This could be your first day on a new unit, joining a new committee, starting a new cross department project, or shifting roles within your own team. In forming, people are often wondering: What's expected of me? Who's the leader here? Where do I fit in? And am I safe to be myself? Everyone wants clarity and belonging. These are two deeply human needs. Nothing is wrong in this stage, but nothing is fully settled either. In the forming stage, it's okay to feel a little uncertain. That's exactly what forming is.

Phase two is the storming phase, or what I like to call the okay-now-we're-in-the-real-group phase. Storming is the spicy stage. It's when people start becoming real. Ideas bump into each other. Styles clash. Someone takes charge who wasn't officially named in charge. Someone else feels left out, and maybe even people disagree about the plan. Storming feels like friction, but it's actually the moment that a group becomes honest. This is where trust begins, not in the forming stage where everyone is polite, but here in the mess. And if your group is storming, congratulations, it means the group is alive. You can't skip this part, and nothing is wrong with you or your team. It is literally how human beings sort themselves into collaboration. This is also where leadership, whether it's formal or informal, really matters and makes a difference. This could be someone who says, "Okay, let's slow down. What are we actually thinking about this?" or "Help me see what I'm missing." It could also sound like, "What's our shared goal again?" These well-placed questions can help move the group forward.

Phase three is norming, or as I like to call it the we've-got-this phase. Norming is when the fog clears, teams will begin to understand each other, accept each other's differences, align on shared ways of working, and create informal agreements. Kind of like, "If you'll do this part, I'll do that part." They'll also begin to trust that other people on the team will follow through. This phase is where psychological safety grows. Not because no one ever disagrees, but because people start disagreeing productively. That's the difference. You'll know you're in the norming phase when meetings feel smoother, people follow through reliably, questions just feel easier to ask, and frustrations get addressed instead of buried. Norming is that sweet spot where collaboration feels doable; not perfect, but functional.

Phase four is the performing stage, or as I like to call it the we're-actually-pretty-good-at-this phase. Performing is the glow-up stage. The group becomes self-directed, confident, focused on results, clear on the roles as well as the outcomes, and resilient, even when things go a little sideways. People support each other without being asked. Problems get solved quickly, and the whole group feels more capable than the individuals on their own. Performing isn't permanent, though. It's a phase we can move in and out of. But once a team has been there, they know what they're aiming for.

If you take nothing else from this podcast, please let it be this, storming is normal, healthy, expected, and it's also temporary. It doesn't mean the team is broken. It doesn't mean that you're bad or that your leadership is ineffective. It just means that your team is forming, they're coming together. Whether you're a charge nurse guiding a shift, a member of our billing department sorting out a new process, part of a cross department effort, or working on a big initiative, you will feel these stages. And when storming shows up, you can take a breath and remember that this means that we're growing.

At this point, you're probably asking yourself, what can I do to help my team along through each one of these phases? And that's a great question. Here are three simple things anyone can do in any stage, no matter their role:

Number one, ask one clarifying question. That could be asking, "What's our main goal today?" or "What problem are we actually trying to solve?"

Number two, name what you see. Be honest about it, but don't be critical. That could sound like, "It seems like we have a couple of different ideas here. Can we pause and compare them?"

Three, lean into curiosity, yours and others. This is not agreement, it's not consensus. It's just curiosity. And it's the fuel that moves groups from storming into norming.

Thanks so much for listening today. Whether you're in forming, storming, norming, or performing, or let's be honest, cycling through all four in a single shift, know that everything you're experiencing is part of the science of teams and the human experience of working together. I'm Libby Johnson. And as always, learning and development is here to support you in your journey.

Until next time, be kind to yourselves. Be kind to your teams. You're exactly where you're supposed to be.