Saturday, December 8, 2012

Five Stages of working with Groups


Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Groups with the clearest established norms? Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why?

High performing groups are the hardest to leave.  People enjoy working with others who share their vision and complete tasks successfully.  Also groups that establish norms impact people’s behavior.  They become accustomed to the groups and do not want to leave.  I worked with a group to develop the school float last year.  Everyone worked so well together that the group discussed future projects.  Since most of us work together as teachers, we were inspired by the collaboration of the group.  It was hard to leave because everyone was supportive, creative, and made the project very easy.  We had trust and good communication in the group, and it is hard to find that in other groups.

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced?
 
When the group adjourned, the group held a small party to celebrate the success of the float.  A lot of hard work went into the project, so the party was a way to wind down and say goodbye.

How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program?
 
The scholars in my class have become common names over the year.  Working with them in the discussion helps me to learn course concepts.  As a result, I will miss them when the program is over.  Therefore, I hope to meet some of them at graduate so that we can adjourn properly.


Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

Adjourning “provides the team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other, and it is likely that high performing teams will keep in touch with each other as they have become a very close knit group” (Abudi, 2010).  Adjourning is important because it gives the team the ability to finalize the project and to move on to other projects.  This is an important stage because it is not the end of the team; instead, it is the beginning of new things.  Teams do not have to stay together once the project is done; therefore, they have to adjourn properly.  This can include a celebration, a party, or a recognition ceremony.

Reference

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

4 comments:

  1. Debra,
    Your group must have been very supportive of one another and this makes closing out a difficult experience. I guess this is normal, when people have collaborated and bonded positively in a high performing group. The online classroom is very close to this because of our communication and contribution in discussions. I feel the same way, and I know that I will miss all of you wonderful people that have made our classroom lively. Apart from goodbyes, how are we going to ensure we keep in touch? Thank you for being a part of this great group.

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  2. Debra,
    I agree adjourning is an important part of teamwork. It is important to bring closure to a project, marking the end. It is also a good time celebrate, reflect and express appreciation. Thank you for sharing!

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  3. Hi Debra,

    This was a nice post. I epecially liked the comment you made that adjourning one group is simply the process of beginning new things. This is an important point to make. No matter what, the experience has changed each individual in some way, and will motivate them to act in a particular way, or even take on a new roles or interests.

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  4. Debra,
    It's great to hear that you were able to collabrate well with your team. When you do work well with others it can make the adjourning phase somewhat difficult. Like the saying goes it is so hard to say good bye. You make a good point when you say adjourning is the beginnning of new things. It gives us an oppurtunity to take what we have gained from the experince that we are adjourning from and take those to a new phase of meeting or phase in our life.

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