For my blog this week, I was to complete the following activity: consider the adjourning phase of several of the groups which I have been involved. I was to think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye and answer the following questions.
Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Yes, high performing groups are hard to leave because it is such a self-esteem builder to be accomplishing something. Groups with the clearest established norms? Again, it is hardest to leave this group because of the success.
Which of the groups that I participated in was hardest to leave? My first-born daughter was diagnosed with cancer in first grade. I worked for the Oklahoma Children’s Cancer Association for three years. We meet monthly, did fundraising, work with doctors and the hospital while a new children’s wing was being built; started and funded many new projects, gave financial support to the children’s cancer ward, took vacations (like snow skiing trips) together and I was in charge of a Christmas Party for several hundred people each year. I devoted hundreds of hours in service to this organization, to children with cancer and their families. I was the President in my final year. I had considered serving this organization for many years to come, but life circumstances made it such that I needed to quit at the end of my third term. It was very hard to leave, partly because my whole family was involved and partly because we had made such a connection with so many people. However, being surrounded by cancer, hurting families and watching so many children die was very emotionally draining. I often miss the group, the support we received and the level of participation at which I was involved. It will always be with me, in my heart and mind.
What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? I really didn’t have much of a closing ritual with the Oklahoma Children’s Cancer Association. I was President one day and simply resigned the next. There were no parties or big “good-byes”. My life just continued without the group. I kept in touch with one couple and we are now down to just exchanging Christmas cards each year. I don’t think I would have wanted anything big or special. The way I left the group seems appropriate for that time of life. However, when I was President of my daughters' school PTO, I was given a party, gifts and told I had done a great job by many members of the school. I received a great deal of 'kudos' for the next several years as I saw things that I had started blossom into something big. Even though that was over ten years ago, I occassionally meet someone who will comment about something that my board started or did that made them proud. That closure just evolved over time and took several years to complete.
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? I have already established a close relationship with one person in my master’s degree classes even though this has all been online and we have never met. We are already talking about needing to meet someday and I’m sure we will exchange e-mail addresses upon leaving so that we can stay in touch with one another. We might exchange e-mail, facebook posts or Christmas cards. We will always have the accomplishment of this class in common. I feel that she is a very high functioning student, as am I. It’s funny how you can make these kinds of connections and long-distance friendships without even meeting someone in person. We live hundreds of miles apart and don’t expect that our paths will ever cross again.
Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork? Again, it’s that sense of accomplishment and teamwork. It builds respect and is just courteous. Think about when you are talking to people. If they just get up and walk away, it feels rude and awkward. However, if you have a few pleasantries, comments and good-byes and proper closure, there is a sense of respect and satisfaction in that. Closure says that you did the job you came to do, you accomplished it and now it is time to move on to the next goal, the next phase, the next group. Adjourning, or ending the group, is an essential part of a quality team.
(Adapted from O’Hair and Wiemann, 2009, pp. 254–255)
Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Yes, high performing groups are hard to leave because it is such a self-esteem builder to be accomplishing something. Groups with the clearest established norms? Again, it is hardest to leave this group because of the success.
Which of the groups that I participated in was hardest to leave? My first-born daughter was diagnosed with cancer in first grade. I worked for the Oklahoma Children’s Cancer Association for three years. We meet monthly, did fundraising, work with doctors and the hospital while a new children’s wing was being built; started and funded many new projects, gave financial support to the children’s cancer ward, took vacations (like snow skiing trips) together and I was in charge of a Christmas Party for several hundred people each year. I devoted hundreds of hours in service to this organization, to children with cancer and their families. I was the President in my final year. I had considered serving this organization for many years to come, but life circumstances made it such that I needed to quit at the end of my third term. It was very hard to leave, partly because my whole family was involved and partly because we had made such a connection with so many people. However, being surrounded by cancer, hurting families and watching so many children die was very emotionally draining. I often miss the group, the support we received and the level of participation at which I was involved. It will always be with me, in my heart and mind.
What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? I really didn’t have much of a closing ritual with the Oklahoma Children’s Cancer Association. I was President one day and simply resigned the next. There were no parties or big “good-byes”. My life just continued without the group. I kept in touch with one couple and we are now down to just exchanging Christmas cards each year. I don’t think I would have wanted anything big or special. The way I left the group seems appropriate for that time of life. However, when I was President of my daughters' school PTO, I was given a party, gifts and told I had done a great job by many members of the school. I received a great deal of 'kudos' for the next several years as I saw things that I had started blossom into something big. Even though that was over ten years ago, I occassionally meet someone who will comment about something that my board started or did that made them proud. That closure just evolved over time and took several years to complete.
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? I have already established a close relationship with one person in my master’s degree classes even though this has all been online and we have never met. We are already talking about needing to meet someday and I’m sure we will exchange e-mail addresses upon leaving so that we can stay in touch with one another. We might exchange e-mail, facebook posts or Christmas cards. We will always have the accomplishment of this class in common. I feel that she is a very high functioning student, as am I. It’s funny how you can make these kinds of connections and long-distance friendships without even meeting someone in person. We live hundreds of miles apart and don’t expect that our paths will ever cross again.
Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork? Again, it’s that sense of accomplishment and teamwork. It builds respect and is just courteous. Think about when you are talking to people. If they just get up and walk away, it feels rude and awkward. However, if you have a few pleasantries, comments and good-byes and proper closure, there is a sense of respect and satisfaction in that. Closure says that you did the job you came to do, you accomplished it and now it is time to move on to the next goal, the next phase, the next group. Adjourning, or ending the group, is an essential part of a quality team.
(Adapted from O’Hair and Wiemann, 2009, pp. 254–255)
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