Closing relationships at the end of a project
As I think about the groups of which
I have been a part, those that were the hardest to leave were ones in which I
developed a strong relationship. These groups
had a clear vision, communicated with each other ways in which to accomplish
that vision, and trusted themselves and the other members of the group to
complete the goal set forth (Learning Center, 2011). Most
of the groups in which I have participated have been ones that I have worked
with for three or more years, such as teachers on grade level at a particular
school or groups that I worked with while my husband was serving a church. Some were easier to leave than others because
now as I look back, there were some groups that never got past the storming
stage (Adubi, 2010) (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012, p. 257). In those groups I did not really establish a
connection because I always felt that I was competing against others in the
group instead of working as a team.
Finding common ground is a great way to begin moving from the storming
stage to the norming stage. Recognizing
each person’s strength and allowing them to use their strength to solve a
problem or work on a particular aspect of a project is another important
element.
Each church that we left had a
reception the Sunday before our departure.
For us, the reception was bittersweet.
I say this because in our situation while we were sad to leave the
members of the church we were currently serving, we were excited about the new
challenges we would face with a new church family. The separations at the schools were a little
more difficult because I did not always have a job waiting for me wherever our
next church assignment was. I was more
hesitant to leave these schools because of the unknown. Usually there were times for the grade level
in which I worked to go out and celebrate the successes while I was a teacher
there.
This is the last of our general
classes in our Master’s Degree program.
We will be taking different paths for our specialization; although, I
get the sense that many will be continuing on with me in Administration,
Management, and Leadership. I am hoping
that I will be able to continue to blog with some colleagues that I hold in
high regard. It will not be as difficult
because we have not been able to meet each other face to face. That is the one aspect I miss about not
physically being in the classroom to read people’s body language, hear their
voices for tone, and interpret their gestures and body movements (O’Hair &
Wiemann, 2012, p. 134-135). For me, the
connection is not as strong. I will miss
the intellectual stimulation however. I
will have to use the journals I read for that.
Adjourning is an essential step
because it gives the team an opportunity to evaluate what was accomplished and
how it was accomplished (Abudi, 2010).
It validates the things that the team did well. It also allows the team to determine changes
that might need to occur should the team work together again. Some groups disband before completing this
important step. They lose out on the
insights gained by evaluating the project.
References
Abudi, G. (2010). The five
stages to team development: A case study.
Retrieved from
Learning Center. (2011). How to build a team using vision, commitment
and trust. Retrieved
O’Hair, D.,
& Wiemann, M. (2012). Real
Communication: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Boston, MA:
Bedford/St. Martin’s.
