As I think about group I have been involved in and the ones
that I have departed from I have a few that come to mind. One group is the group I completed by
undergrad schooling with. We went
through all the same classes together and shared the same experiences. I have some friendships with some of those I
went to school with but not very many at all.
This would be considered a high achieving group and it was by far the
hardest to leave. Not only because of my
friends and colleagues I had met but also because it opened a huge chapter in
my life. In order to celebrate this
accomplishment, the graduation ceremony took place. This would be the same for high school as
well.
Another group that I can think of was the group of friends I
made while living in my first apartment.
I had a close group that I hung out with and we did everything
together. Once I met my husband, we
quickly divided. Before moving out of
the complex, we held small get together and shared stories of the past. This was a much lower scale adjourning than
what I mentioned above.
Adjourning is an essential part of team work because that is
the stage in which it all comes together and you have the chance to unwind and
celebrate and reflect on what you have done together. It marks the end of something wonderful but
starts a new part of your life. Teamwork
is about communication and collaborating together and without this stage people
of the team would wonder what came of their hard work.
Each part of life has an adjourning stage. It is hard to keep past friendships intact especially with life changes. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHello Lynette,
ReplyDeleteI too have had similar experiences when I graduated from both high school and my undergrad. While we build relationships within our high-performing groups, once we branch out to other projects (careers) it becomes difficult to keep in touch with high numbers of individuals. Even at my current employer, when a colleague leaves we always promise to stay in touch, yet life seems to keep us all busy. I believe it is the memories and the way in which we presented ourselves when we worked in our group setting which will allow of us to have positive memories of those we no longer see. These people were a large part of our life due to their hard work and commitment, therefore we will always remember them for their contributions to our lives.
I think it is imperative that a celebration happens at the end of each group work. Even if it was not very successful it is still important to celebrate. As Rebecca stated, memories were created working with each team and it is important for reflection with the negative and positive aspects of working with this team. What can you bring with you to the next group project? That is a plus if you can learn from your mistakes.
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