The adjournment stage of team development is always a sad one in my opinion. Of all the groups that I have been a part of, even the ones that were not so great, a bond and mutual respect is always formed. The hardest group for me to leave was my group from Phoenix University. After a while, I had a set group of five and we traveled throughout our undergrad journey together. We were truly like a family although we had never met face to face because everything was online. Occasionally, we would call or text if we had a question, but that was the extent of it. We all said our final goodbyes and good lucks with a sadness, yet happiness because we had reached our goal of completion. This was a high-performing group which made it all the more difficult to leave, but in my experience; the low performing groups were also a little hard to leave because there was still a bond that was formed with some of the group members.
We are a military family and transfer every 18 months or so. We usually have a ritual of gathering together and cooking out and we have a "hale and farewell" party. Those are always sad, even if it is a location that we are ready to leave (such as this one...July 30th, but whose counting)! I wish there was a way that my group from Phoenix could have made plans to meet somewhere that was central to each of our locations and meet face to face and celebrate our victory.
In my master's degree program, it will be difficult for me to think of the adjournment process because I've recently began doubling up on courses because I want to be finished before my next transfer in about five months, therefore, my classmates are beginning to change and I'm the "new girl" now. However, adjourning is an essential stage in teamwork because it allows you to move on and to capture the best moments of the group as well as evaluate what went wrong if the experience was bad (Abudi, 2010). Everyone has to move on in order to grow. Change is one of those necessary parts of life.
8 comments:
I also think that moving on is part of life even if the status quo can be comforting for certain people. The people who deal with transition less easily must have a really hard time with the adjourning phase. And as you said, even in a low functioning team, you still make personal connections with people and it is hard to leave.
As an expat, living in another country, I understand the rituals of leaving. I have been able to learn from the high and low performing groups as well. Adjournment allows us the opportunity to process the emotions that are related to leaving the group. Good luck on your next move.
I remember moving around a lot as a child. My father was in the Air Force, so I understand what you mean. I always felt sad, but also hopeful for what the next place would bring. I think the best part about adjourning is moving on to bigger and better things. It is hard to say good-bye, but there is always a bright side.
I do not have the same experience as you with the moving around a lot. I was fortunate enough to stay in my home from infancy to adulthood. I do have similar feelings with regards to the college courses that we take. I often find it difficult to connect with others as we are an online school. I do have to admit that this program has been easier to form bonds with because of the blog assignments. In my first master's program at Walden University we did not have these assignments, so the classes were more impersonal.
Cheryl,
One of my best friends experienced the same thing you are going through right now and she would always tell me how hard it was to be the new girl. She told me after a while she started making a game of it and just changing her self every city she went to just because she said it was an opportunity to become someone new :). I can also relate to you with being the new girl. I think it is interesting that even during an online class that feeling is there. I wish you the best on your doubling up on courses and up coming move (134 more days but whose counting lol)
Thank you for sharing
Lauren
Cheryl,
I truly appreciate your help and support throughout the courses that we have had together. Your opinions and insights have made me dig deeper into my own thinking and views of several topics. I appreciate your sense of professionalism and truly wish you the best with your move and with the courses in which you are taking.
Dear Cheryl,
Thank you for a great 8 weeks of learning, inputs, suggestions, challenges and acknowledgements. Team work really helped me understand different points of view, different meanings and consider other's ideas.
I truly enjoyed reading all of your bogs and insightful information that was given through your experiences. It was great to have a class full of people who had similar goals in mind when it came to education and how to best communicate with one another. I wish the best in your future.
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