This week in “Team Building and Collaboration”, we learned about the five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. These stages are an importance for the team to grow where they will be functioning together effectively and achieve success.
For this blog assignment, I will focus on the “adjourning” phase when the team has completed a project and is getting ready to leave each other. I believe all groups are hard to leave when you have established a good team that has worked effectively together. The group I participated in was our group of pre-k team teachers last year. Some of us have been together 16+ years and have established a close bond. Due to the budget cuts for pre-k, our group was split up because some of the pre-k teachers couldn’t afford to take a cut in pay, which forced them to resign from pre-k and move up to other grades or retire. Breaking up a team can be very stressful for all involved. At the end of last school year, during our post planning, the team had their last luncheon together where we shared tears and many memories together as we are getting ready to depart and go our separate ways in the early childhood field.
I anticipate that I will experience sadness as well as joy when I adjourn from the group of colleagues that were formed while working on my master’s degree. I will experience sadness because some of us have been together from the first course, and I hope we will continue to keep in touch as we go on our journey in the early childhood field. We have shared many stories, ideas, and insights that created closeness even thought we don’t know each other personally. The joy I will experience will be because obtaining my master’s degree will be another stepping stone I have accomplished in my careerJ.
I think adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because the group will get a chance to analyze all the ups and downs they have shared in that team, and use this information in other groups in the future to help build effective teamwork.
Carol, Leaving a group has been hard for me in the past. I have grown so much with them over a period of time.It is great to see many people can accomplish so much together. If many people would continue to work as a team; this world could accomplish such much for our children.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I like that you point out being in these group while working on our master degree give use the chance to analyze. This i think help build our understanding of early childhood.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I think certainly it would be difficult to break a group or team that has worked well together and is not ready to break. Do you think it is different for a different type of team? For example, one that had a set of specific goals and objectives and completed them? I think that once the group has served its purpose, it is easier to adjourn than if the group has not completed what it set out to do. Do you agree, or have other thoughts on this?
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