Lead the Team Inside You

A fresh take on a well-known system for making tough personal decisions.

Lead the team inside YOU.

You know that feeling when you have a big decision to make and every part of you starts arguing all at once? Part of you says: “Dude, play it safe.” Another pumps you up and says, “Go for it.” Then another part inside yells: “You have no clue what you’re doing!”

Which part is right? It’s chaotic. And it’s normal. It’s what happens when you, a single individual, are trying to lead a team inside yourself.

Most people haven’t heard of Bruce Tuckman.

But as a psychological researcher, he developed a framework that quietly underpins everything from team offsites to leadership training decks to first-year group therapy workshops.

In 1965, he proposed that groups grow through five stages:

• Forming (getting to know each other and the goal)
• Storming (clashing over ideas, roles, or direction)
• Norming (finding common ground and building trust)
• Performing (working smoothly and making progress)
• Adjourning (wrapping up, reflecting, and moving on)