A guide to the team journey
From a loose group to a high-performing team
Get your team into the ‘performing’ phase faster!
Together with you, we’ll design a team journey tailored to your specific context, your organisation and your objectives. Whether it’s a reorganisation, a transformation or a targeted upgrade to a high-performing team – we’ll support you every step of the way, from assessing your current situation to ensuring the changes are firmly embedded in your day-to-day operations.
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What sets the ‘undconsorten’ approach apart?
undconsorten links team development to the specific tasks and change situations that teams must tackle together. Through a bespoke ‘Team Journey’, we clarify the team’s shared direction, roles and working methods, enable conflicts to be addressed constructively, and embed new routines through repeated reflection in day-to-day work. In this way, team development does not stop at individual off-site sessions, but guides teams systematically from being a loose group towards shared, sustainable performance.
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Do you recognise your team in this?
Meetings where nobody really speaks. Responsibilities that remain unclear. A team that, after a year, still works together just as it did on the first day – only with more frustration. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
Most teams don’t fail because of a lack of talent. They fail because nobody consciously charts the path from getting to know one another to achieving genuine high performance.
What is a Team Journey?
A Team Journey is a structured development process that guides teams systematically through the four stages of team development as defined by Bruce Tuckman: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. The aim is to shorten the path to becoming a high-performing team from an average of 18 months to 6–9 months – through targeted off-sites, methods and reflection processes rather than by chance.
Why teams without a journey fail
Teams go through the Tuckman phases – whether they like it or not. The difference lies in whether this process is consciously shaped or not.
Three typical patterns that arise without a structured team journey:
- The honeymoon trap: The team gets off to an enthusiastic start. After 3–6 months, the energy has fizzled out. Conflicts are avoided, meetings are inefficient, and responsibilities remain unclear.
- The ‘phantom’ team: Nominally a team, but in reality eight lone wolves. Everyone works in silos; meetings are mere status updates – genuine collaboration does not take place.
- The endless ‘forming’ loop: Even after twelve months, roles remain unclear, conflicts are sidestepped, and there is a lack of shared working practices. The team never really gets off the ground.
The figures behind this are sobering:
- 75 % of newly formed teams never reach the ‘Performing’ phase (MIT Research, 2023)
- Without structured team development, performance wastage stands at 30–40 %
- On average, it takes 12–18 months for a team to become high-performing – if at all
The model behind it: Tuckman and the four stages
In the 1960s, the American psychologist Bruce Tuckman developed a phased model for sustainable team development. Since its publication, it has helped managers, team members and HR professionals to accurately assess group dynamics, deal with conflicts constructively and specifically improve team performance.
Every team goes through these stages – but not every team starts at the same point. Whether a team is just coming together or has been working together for years, whether it operates virtually, in a hybrid format or in person: the starting point of the team’s journey is always determined on a case-by-case basis.
Phase 1: Forming – Cast off
The team members hardly know each other, if at all. Expectations, uncertainties and hopes are all intertwined. Roles and processes have not yet been defined. The key task: getting to know one another, developing shared goals and agreeing on the ground rules.
What happens during this phase:
- Developing a shared team purpose and team ambition
- Clarifying roles and responsibilities
- Defining communication standards and working methods
- Laying the foundations for an effective meeting culture (setting the agenda, timeboxing, taking minutes)
- Team-building: a ‘Personal User Manual’ to help team members get to know one another
Recommendation for managers: Establish an open line of communication, define objectives clearly and actively support the process of getting to know one another. Ideally, this step should take place during an off-site event lasting several days – away from day-to-day business.
Phase 2: Storming – Setting sail
The first conflicts arise as people get to know one another. Subgroups form, tensions rise, and motivation can suffer. This is normal – and necessary. Anyone who skips or suppresses this phase will pay a higher price later on.
What happens during this phase:
- Discussion of governance and decision-making mechanisms
- Drawing up a team charter (principles of collaboration)
- Dealing with conflicts using specific use cases
- Skills: Fundamentals of feedback (Johari Window or Radical Candour), agile working, growth mindset
- Team-building: Feedback walk
Advice for managers: Remain neutral. Facilitate conflicts without taking control. A second off-site meeting after 2–3 months is a good opportunity to reflect on challenges and adjust the rules for working together.
Phase 3: Norming – Navigating rough waters
The team is finding its stride. New ways of working are emerging, collaboration is becoming more solution-focused, and tasks are being allocated more effectively. Not everything is running smoothly just yet – but the team is showing whether it can overcome crises together.
What happens during this phase:
- Reflection on key issues and successes (beacons)
- Commitment statements and review of previous agreements
- Skills: Project management (Kanban, OKRs), self-organisation, prioritisation, decision-making
- Team-building: Getting to know each other better (Water Lily method)
Advice for managers: Take on the role of a consultant. Provide support through targeted guidance, ensure that agreements are consistently adhered to, and allow the process the time it needs.
Phase 4: Performing – Striving for excellence
The team works independently, efficiently and in a goal-oriented manner. Conflicts are identified at an early stage and resolved constructively. Energy is no longer channelled into the collaboration itself – but into achieving shared goals.
What happens during this phase:
- Review of the current year
- Developing the team’s vision and priorities for the coming year
- Reviewing previous agreements and drawing up the work programme
- Skills: Setting and tracking targets (e.g. the SMART method)
- Team-building: Shaping the team’s vision, mutual appreciation and feedback on strengths
Advice for managers: Take a backseat. Stay in the background, create space for innovation and be available as a sparring partner – whenever the team needs you.
When does a team journey make sense – and when doesn’t it?
A Team Journey proves its worth in specific situations. And it is not a panacea. A Team Journey is useful in the following situations:
Reorganisation of a management team
A new CEO is putting together their leadership team. The Team Journey helps the team to become operational quickly and to establish shared working practices. Typical duration: 6–9 months, 4 off-site meetings. Outcome: From a loose group to a cohesive leadership team.
Post-merger integration
Following a takeover, two management teams must merge into one. The Team Journey creates a new, shared identity. Typical duration: 9–12 months, 4–5 off-site meetings. Outcome: a sense of ‘One Team’ rather than ‘Us vs Them’.
Pivot situations
An existing team needs to reinvent itself – moving from local to global, and from operational to strategic. The Team Journey helps to clarify the new roles. Typical duration: 6 months, 3–4 off-site sessions. Outcome: clarity on new roles, processes and collaboration models.
Crisis management
A team is experiencing deep-seated conflicts or has lost trust. The Team Journey helps the team to work constructively and rebuild trust. Typical duration: 6–9 months, with intensive support. Outcome: From dysfunctional to functional.
Upgrade zum High-Performing Team
A team is functioning ‘okay’, but wants to take it to the next level. The Team Journey helps teams move from the ‘norming’ stage to the ‘performing’ stage. Typical duration: 3–6 months, 2–3 off-site sessions. Outcome: From good to excellent.
You don’t need a Team Journey if:
- The team has fewer than four members – in which case facilitated workshops are sufficient
- The team is already high-performing and works well
- There is no willingness to invest time in off-site meetings and reflection
- The problem is a single toxic team leader – in which case you do not need team development, but rather personnel action
Conclusion
A Team Journey is not a workshop programme. It is a strategic decision to actively shape the path towards becoming a high-performing team, rather than waiting to see what happens. Stepping away from day-to-day operations creates space for open discussions, new perspectives and strategic thinking. This not only strengthens interpersonal dynamics – it creates a shared vision, deepens collective leadership responsibility and makes teams more resilient in times of crisis.
Teams that embark on this journey reach their destination faster. And they stay there.