Adjourning a Group

Adjourning a group 

As an early childhood educator, I have been a team member and team leader of many groups and most of the groups I was a part of adjourn on a positive note. A few did not adjourn but just ended with not notice or consideration for the team members.

However, in reading the article ‘The five stages of team development”, are a few groups that it was hard to say good bye. The group consisted of several early care directors, teachers, consultants, parents, and school principals involved in a group to bring awareness of the education gap that was occurring in our community. The objective was to find ways such as stakeholders, state representatives, and grantees who would commit on a long-term basis to help the local community solve the issue. This project ended well we, the project was completed on time, and we had a luncheon celebration. Base on the article this was a good way of adjourning the team, “The leader ensured that there was time for the team to celebrate the success of the project and capture best practices for future use” (Abudi, 2010). This group really did not adjourn because we worked on other projects related to early childhood education in the community, which allowed us to continue sharing our experiences.

I believe that there were groups that were high performing that I have been involved in that at times I wanted to quit mid project and others that I could not wait to finish the project so we could celebrate the success. Some of this group did not set clear expectations as to the end goal of the project. The ones that I was the team leader, I made sure that we followed the five stages of team development, but still met with rejections and team members that did not share that I was capable of being the team leader. Most of the groups that was hardest to say goodbye to were the early childhood partnerships because we brought so much experience to the table. The other groups that I wanted to end fast were church councils, and family related that were extremely stressful.

I am a course away from earning my master’s degree and it would be sad adjourning this group. Honestly, I hope that I can remain in contact with my colleagues so that we can continue to support each other in the future. I have enjoyed being part of these groups from course to course and have learned from each team member. On this has journey to achieve my degree, I have been a part of a group in every course I have taken and sad to say, no one has ever reached out. I have always given my personal email and phone number, but no one has ever called or email. I have however been in contact with former instructors.

I believe that adjourning is essential stage teamwork because “This stage looks at the team from the perspective of the well-being of the team rather than from the perspective of managing a team through the original four stages of team growth” (Abudi, 2010). The project has to end some day and if the team was conducted following the other stages, then adjourning should be easy but sad.

 

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

Strategies to resolve disagreement or Conflicts

 

Strategies to resolve disagreement or Conflicts

The conflict that I recently experienced with a colleague was about how to present a document to the committee so that it would be coherent for everyone to comprehend.  The colleague could not understand what I was stating to her and kept getting frustrated and upset.  The issue was the way the monthly budget report was written so that everyone can understand it to make an informed decision on spending. The colleague became agitated and began to shout at me stating that the report was fine for the others and it should be the same for me.  The issue here is that the others on the committee did not understand it but went along with it so not to upset her because they knew her personality.

The two strategies used were to first use active listening skills, along with understanding the root of the conflict so that I could use productive conflict strategy and minimizing the provocation.  I did not want my colleague to feel I was accusing her or that she was incompetent. I also used the 3 R’s to be able to dissolve the conflict/disagreement so that we both could reflect on what caused the conflict.  I stopped talking to allow her to blow off her steam and when she was done, I ask her to explain the document to the group.  As she started to do this, she realized that the document was confusing to her as well.  She proceed to explain that this was the way the document was given to her from the previous committee so she  continued using it and never thought to make changes.  At that point, I apologize for any misunderstanding and told her that I was concerned because the document was confusing. I did not want to upset her or change the way she did her job, just wanted to make the document comprehensible for everyone.

I also use the 3 R’s to be able to be respectful, reciprocal, and responsive to diffuse the conflict.  I respected her opinion, allowed her to state her case, and responded tactfully.   By learning to use the ideas of relationship to be respectful of others through observation of her verbal, non-verbal behaviors, I was able to avoid the situation getting worse.

How would you handle this situation?  Should I have made it a different decision?

Evaluating Myself as a Communicator

In evaluating myself through the quizzes, I realize that base on the questions; I scored from mild to high range on listening, communication anxiety, and verbal aggression.  After reviewing all of the scores and reviewing the questions, I answered; I realize that I need to take a closer look at how I communicate with others on areas such as my communication anxiety.  This area showed that I am comfortable with any communication situation and is confident in anticipation of such encounter.  In the Listening styles, I am people, action, content and time oriented.  This shows that I am very particular in how I communicate with others. The verbal aggression scores, shows that I never engage in verbal aggression or personal attacks.

I believe that the one area that I did not realize was so significant or surprising in my communication style is that I scored high on a question and the results indicated that “I often resort to character attacks and ridicule when talking to others who do not share my view point” (Laureate, 2014).  I believe this is incorrect because it is not something that I have ever done in my life.  I know I have a zero tolerance for people who constantly repeat the same thing repeatedly and I will ask them to wrap it up.

I realized that there are areas of communication that I need to pay close attention to how I interact with others and not come across as too aggressive.

The other insight I gained is that I need to curb my anxiety level when communicating depending on the situation.