EDUC6165 Week6 Adjourning Stage

The adjourning phase of team development is the fifth and final stage.  In this stage, the end project should be reviewed and evaluated.  Projects that turned out well can be remembered for the future.  Projects that did not turn out well can be dissected, and the results saved and learned for the future.  This is also a time for the team to celebrate the various successes of the project.  Often, close knit group members will feel sad that the project has ended, and will want to keep in touch.

High performing groups are very difficult to leave.  In a high performing group, members become close knit, they become almost like a family.  Groups with a strong norming stage have members which trust, value and respect each other.  There is a strong level of peer support among group members with a strong norming stage.  When the group disbands, there is a feeling of loss, a feeling of sadness.  Persons you have become close to, trust, and respect are no longer available for group work.

Low performing groups are easy to leave.  There is not a high level of trust formed.  Neither is there a high level of commitment.  Members are not connected and feel little or no responsibility for each other.  A low performing group often never reaches the norming stage, never learns to work toward a common goal as a team.

I have experienced a variety of adjourning rituals.  Project reflection is a common ritual, which can be enlightening and educational.  Parties are often thrown at the end of a project, a place to celebrate the project, a place to say good-byes, a place to exchange personal contact information.  Parties are a very common ritual!  Sometimes, a project just ends with an event.  This is common when planning an event, such as a scout banquet.  Often, when the event ends, the team is thanked, and no further adjourning takes place.

When I graduated from high school, I felt sad to leave my group of friends.  We worked toward a common goal.  Graduation.  When I graduate from this master’s degree program, I will again feel sad to loose contact with my fellow students.  The online environment allows for a lower level of team work than a course taught in a classroom, and is not as difficult to leave.  However, I will still feel sad to no longer communicate with my classmates.  I hope to keep in touch as I begin a career in the teaching field, beginning a new team challenge, a project defined as a peer support group for those of us entering the job market in the early childhood field, another online team project.  I do not want to say goodbye, I want to start another project!       

Adjourning is an essential portion of team work, as every beginning needs an ending.  Proper adjourning sets the stage for further team work.  Team members are able to celebrate successes and learn from choices and decisions that were less than perfect.  Proper adjourning practices also give participants an opportunity to socialize, reinforcing new friendships and planning future contact.