The Adjourning Stage

            Working in the field of educations means there are numerous experiences where team work and collaboration exist. Understanding the five stages of team development, specifically the adjourning stage, can help us to seek out positive end results as we look to accomplish this final stage of our team development (Learning Center, 2011).

            Within my own experiences, I have found the hardest good-byes during the adjourning stage to take place when I have a personal relationship built with the person, more specifically when the relationship is a friendship outside of the working environment (Learning Center, 2011). I highly enjoy many of my colleagues, however those who have similar personalities to mine are people I tend to build stronger relationships to due to our similarities both within and outside of a group setting. As a result, when leaving a situation in which I may not work with specific individuals whom I hold these relationships,  it can be more difficult to leave the team. Other aspects which make it difficult to leave when working with a group include people who I felt have committed themselves to the effort, allowing for us to work together in a more efficient way, where respect and clear communication was fostered (Learning Center, 2011). It is the support received and the positivity which leaves me with lasting impressions of individuals, therefore these group aspects are ones which are hard to leave behind as I work with new teams.

            Some closing rituals which I have experienced include exchanging personal emails and phone numbers in order to keep in touch with the members of my group, adding each other on social media to keep in touch, and going out to dinner or attending a small gathering such as a potluck at a group member’s home.

            In adjourning from the group of colleagues I have formed while working on my master’s degree in this program may be different than many of you. I first completed my graduate certificate, then went back to complete my master’s degree, causing me to have to complete classes a bit out of order than many other individuals. As a result, I have not had more than two courses with the same individuals, causing me to lose a lot of connections in our group work. I do look forward to keeping in touch with fellow classmates from each of my courses through their blogs and emails but beyond that, due to the distance of the graduation ceremonies and the location of many of my classmates around the world, I feel as if it is going to be difficult to celebrate the success we have captured as a collective group beyond the means of technology.  While I may not be able to continue on with strong working relationships with my classmates, I am thankful to have a well-supportive team of coworkers at my current employer, allowing for me to build upon the degrees they are obtaining as we reflect together on our learning and apply it to the needs of our children and families.

            I believe adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because it provides a sense of closure and a way to relieve any last stressors which were still present after the project’s completion. Allowing for a clean slate to be drawn in terms of work and allowing for relationships to become stronger as individuals reflect on best practices which will be used for the future is essential for people’s commitment to future team exercises (Learning Center, 2011). Being able to say good-bye to one another also helps individuals to put behind any lingering negative feelings as they can focus more on each other, as opposed to having a task at hand. I hope each person in a team development situation can have a positive adjourning stage where lifelong relationships are built as individuals work together both personally and professionally for the best interest of children and families within the early childhood field.

Reference

Learning Center. (2011). How to build a team using vision, commitment, and trust. Retrieved

from http://www.learningcenter.net/library/building.shtml.