IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE!!

Saying, "Goodbye" is always so very difficult for me. I can remember how difficult is was to say to my Comrades when leaving Basic Training, and just recently when we relocated to North Carolina from Virginia and I had to leave my team from the Child Development Center and Academy I managed for six years. Our team had gone through the forming, storming, norming and performing stages and now the adjourning stage was upon us. I can remember when I was first hired as the Director. I came into a situation that was very volatile. There was a high turnover rate and many of the staff members didn't take pride in their work. Then there were those with very strong personalities that almost took on a dictator role in the center. They felt since they had worked there for so long, they were in charge. I must admit, the forming stage was very difficult because I had to evaluate the team's current performance and decide if a new team was necessary or if we could continue with the current team. Depending upon how you look at the process, we had to form a "new" team which meant keeping some of the current team members but changing their mindset and hiring new staff members. The storming stage where, "They have different opinions on what should be done and how it should be done - which causes conflict within the team. As they go progress through this stage, with the guidance of the team leader, they learn how to solve problems together, function both independently and together as a team, and settle into roles and responsibilities on the team (Abudi, 2010)." was especially difficult for those who were very opinionated. I can remember having to have several one on one conversations with individuals in order to curtail the intimidation of others their strong personalities caused. In the end the norming and performing stages were very successful. The employee turnover rate decreased tremendously which caused the enrollment to increase. During our adjourning stage, there were a lot of tears. I felt as if I was leaving my family. When I go back to visit, many of the same team members are still there and I can proudly say that they had learned so much from my leadership style because in essence, they had moved on to their various areas and appreciated how I made the vision clear, managed very difficult situations and was never afraid to model expected behavior for them. I miss them so much but it is like a reunion when we all get together. I can honestly say this team was one of the most challenging but most rewarding teams I have every worked on.

When I think about my team at Walden University, I have had a wonderful experience with this group of wonderful people. I think those of us who will meet face to face for the first time at our graduation will be super excited and experience a new level of unity. I never thought I would feel such a closeness from attending an online University because I am a face-to-face person however, I was so wrong. This has been a very unique experience for me.

Adjourning is a very important stage of a team because at some point the individuals must branch out and put what they have built to work. We must learn from one another and move out to teach others. Also, adjourning is important because sometimes we must be careful not to establish cliques and splinter groups that will deter others from appreciating the teams contributions to the project.


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