Adjourning
One of the hardest
groups for me to leave was also the group I devoted the most time helping to
build. Early in my career I worked for a
year as a VISTA Volunteer with a Mental Health/Mental Retardation program. The program director had written a grant to
obtain VISTA Volunteers and shortly after getting us on board she resigned her
position and relocated. Prior to leaving
she told us her vision was to develop a puppet show to provide education about
mental disabilities to the community. The
volunteers bought into the vision. To realize the vision we spent much energy on the forming
stage of getting to know each other, the agency staff and getting agency staff on
board to “buying into” our goals and developing clear directions regarding the
project (Abudi, 2010). In conjunction with agency staff, community members,
a recording studio, and other agencies we all spent countless volunteer hours
writing a script, making puppets and a stage, writing and recording songs and
practicing, practicing, practicing! We
progressed into a cohesive, well developed team and developed strong friendships. We celebrated the success of the project
after each performance; however we did not formally “adjourn” prior to the team
members moving off into different directions (Abudi, 2010). Perhaps we each considered our “adjournment”
the sad good-byes we bade each other as the VISTA project ended.
I have been
contemplating the question, “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?” and have not formulated an answer. It seems like yesterday that I was brushing
my forehead while exclaiming, “Half way there”!
We share so many personal stories and have grown so much while pursuing
our master’s! My first thought is that
most school “adjournments” are celebrated with a graduation ceremony. My second thought is that we should incorporate
what we’ve learned about team development and begin with the forming stage of
discussion with each other and developing objectives/goals to plan for an
adjournment celebration and start to think about the roles we will each take to
meet our goal (Abudi, 2010).
I would like to take
this opportunity to thank my colleagues for the support you continuously
provide me and for sharing your personal stories. I am a better person for learning to listen
through reading your postings and blogs.
The lessons I learned from each of you are inexpressible! Thank you!
Special thanks go
out to a colleague that shared her story of an acting group she participated in
while in college (Beene, 2012). Your
story sparked my memory of the VISTA project I described above. Until participating in such a group, it is
hard to fathom the effort and commitment involved.
References
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
Beene, H. T. (2012). Discussion Board, Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field (EDUC - 6165
- 1), week 6
Good morning, Joey. You have generated a few tears from this colleague. Your story about coming together with the other VISTA volunteers to create and perform a puppet show started me crying. I am a very creative and artsy person (hence my overabundance of emotions and deep reflections through this Master's program) and the puppet show idea made a connection in my soul. Sounds like an personally satisfying and incredibly successful project that you helped to form, storm, norm, and perform! Adjourning really is quite a key part of the stages because it can help to review the impact made and bring us to a place where we shut a door and look to move on to a different place. Your adjournment here sounds more like an unspoken and inevitable one.
ReplyDeleteI have also come to a different place in my life because of these classes and most especially because of you and many other colleagues. It is amazing how the conversations that we have are like sparks. One word, sentence, or thought often creates a spark in us which then turns into a fire. We simply have no idea how many sparks have flown into other's lives through our blogs and conversations that have ignited a fire inside. See, that is exactly how the fires start. A spark came to you through someone else's post this week. A spark came to me through your blog. Just like that. Reading your blog inspired me, I started typing a response to you and out of my thoughts came the idea about a spark. Most likely that will be the idea you will see behind my final blog post for this class.
I am so glad that our journey together is not quite over and that you & I have not hit the adjourning stage YET. It is great to know that four of us will continue on at least for another class together.
As always, I am grateful for what you have shared. It has been more difficult for me this time around because I typically like to read and get involved in more "conversations" on the discussion boards, but I simply could not because the groups were larger and my time was more limited!
Cindy
Joey,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such compassion thorughout the classes we have taken together. I wish you the best in your endeavors, and I have really enjoyed working with you. You have shared many ideas, stories, and reflection and the feeling of compassion flows in your writing. Thank you-
I always enjoy reading your post because they are heart filling. Where ever you go in life you will be a blessing to the individuals in your company. Best Wishes! Heather
ReplyDeleteMartha Jo,
ReplyDeleteThanks for always encouraging and inspiring me. People progress to unity in order to develop a strong friendship. When team members promote unity in the group the goal of the team will be achieved. I appreciate your write up.