I have been involved in several group settings that the adjourning stage affected me in many different ways. The adjourning stage of a project is when the project is coming to an end and team members are moving off into different directions (Abudi, 2010). There are many aspects of the groups that made for a difficult goodbye. High performing groups have been hard to leave, especially if we started from the bottom and worked our way to the top. Usually when a group starts out together in a less than ideal situation and spend time together problem solving and sorting through issues in order to succeed, it makes harder to leave. We have been through so much together to become high performing.
The group that was hardest for me to leave was when I was promoted from a teacher to a Campus Director. The teachers in this group and I worked very closely together in all aspects of the Early Childhood field. We planned Staff Development Day training together and many other training opportunities. Many of the other teachers were finishing up their degrees and CDA's and were venturing off to fulfill other goals and ambitions.
Our closing ritual consisted of a celebration of everyone's accomplishments! We would also always go to dinner after we completed of Annual Staff Development Day. The preparation for those trainings were always intense. Dinner and drinks always made for a time to unwind and celebrate our success.
I am hoping to get to meet many of my colleagues at graduation! I was not going to participate when I initially enrolled in this degree program, but the closer we get to the end, the more anxious I get to put a face with a name. I find myself looking for familiar names during each course that we take. I hope that many of my colleagues plan to attend graduation and celebrate our goals and accomplishments! There are a couple of my colleagues that I just want to hug because I have heard their story and I am extremely proud of them!
References
Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html
Theresa I have the same curiosity about meeting the people I have come to know through the course. While we can see what we look like in photo's there is so much more to a person in real life. I wish that I could have the opportunity to attend our graduation, but living so far away, I think will make it impractical. But who knows maybe one day, if I come to the states I may be able to find some of the people I have come to know. Which specialization are you headed for?
ReplyDeleteAll the best, may our paths cross somehow in the future.