At
some point in our lives, we will all become a part of a group; whether it is in
a school, church, or work environment. Most of us have pride in ourselves when
we are able to be a part of a successful team. Developing a group that will be
effective and successful involves five stages including forming, storming,
norming, performing, and adjourning. For this blog, I will focus my attention
on the adjourning phase of the five stages.
According
to Abudi (2010), the adjourning stage is used to evaluate the success of a
project, evaluate failures if necessary, and to say goodbye to the members of
the team. I feel that the hardest aspects of leaving a group are if each of its
members were able to form a bond through collaboration and participation.
Sometimes, it will be hard to say goodbye to a great leader; it will also be
hard to realize that a successful part of one’s life has ended. I feel that
high-performing and clearly established groups are the hardest to leave,
because through hard work, they strived to reach and accomplish a common goal.
According to O’Hair and Wiemann (2012), during adjourning, individuals can make
amends if necessary; and often, long lasting friendships occur during high-
performing projects.
Over
the years, I have been in many groups and I have served in many teams. The
group that I feel was the hardest to leave, was a sisterhood group at church.
All of us worked hard to accomplish many goals; we were successful in
communicating, and we built long lasting relationships. Each of us is still
close friends and family today. In all of my years of working with groups or teams,
I do not recall a time where we used the adjourning stage. I wish we had,
because it would have allowed us to resolve issues we had during the project. Looking
forward, to the end of my Walden experience, I imagine that my colleagues and I
will adjourn through meaningful interactions, through blogs and discussion. For
those who will attend graduation, we will adjourn in person, by officially
introducing ourselves and exchanging information.
Adjourning
is an essential stage of teamwork, because it allows individuals to resolve any
issues between each other. It allows the team to discuss failures and success
and what they liked or disliked about the process or project (O’Hair &
Weimann, 2012). Being able to resolve issues and amend relationships in a professional
manner is essential to one’s personal and professional growth. “The team leader
should ensure that there is time for the team to celebrate the success of the
project and capture best practices for future use;” this is necessary, if one
wants to counter act any related issues in the future (Abudi, 2010, p. 1). Through
the resources, I have learned how important incorporating the five stages of
team development is for the success of my collegiate and professional career.
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
O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction.
New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.
