Adjourning stage

According to Abudi, (2010) “Every team goes through the five stages of team development. The five stages:

• Stage 1: Forming
• Stage 2: Storming
• Stage 3: Norming
• Stage 4: Performing
• Stage 5: Adjourning

 The adjourning stage is when the team is completing the current project. They will be joining other teams and moving on to other work in the near future. For a high performing team, the end of a project brings on feelings of sadness as the team members have effectively become as one and now are going their separate ways. The team leader should ensure that there is time for the team to celebrate the success of the project and capture best practices for future use. (Or, if it was not a successful project - to evaluate what happened and capture lessons learned for future projects.) This also provides the team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as they pursue their next endeavor. It is likely that any group that reached Stage 4: Performing will keep in touch with each other as they have become a very close knit group and there will be sadness at separating and moving on to other projects independently. (Abudi, 2010)

This goes to show that adjourning is crucial and essential in any team work. It indicates success and closure, evaluation and lesson learned, feeling of accomplishment, reflection and moment to make and discuss plans for the future, moment of merry and satisfaction about making a difference. This stage is also good for one’s self esteem, and gears individuals towards striving to achieve positive goals. It’s an emotional phase, filled with joy and sadness; having to say goodbye to group of people you have worked with as a team and support each other’s challenges as a team. Friendship definitely as being formed as human nature builds relationship around interaction, trust, commitment, empathy and support.

Of all the team work I have being a part of, a particular one stood out for me because of the success of the project and the adjourning phase. The team goal was to revive an association magazine. Six members were selected; two female and 4 male all form the field of arts and humanities. It was an amazing experience for me, I learnt a lot and I also got a lot of exposure within a short period of time. At the end the magazine was produced and we moved to the adjourning stage where we all told one another how well we performed and would not mind to working together on another project. We had our farewell ritual with a dinner party at a nice restaurant. The team leader was a wonderful person; He made the event a surprise packaged. It was fun and we all sat down to talk for hours about our dreams and ambitions. We ate, drank and we also got free copies of the magazines as our complimentary gift. Aside from that a certificate was given to members .We are all still good friends, although I lost contact with the other female team mate. I still communicate with the others via phone and social media even though we are far apart.

It has being amazing working with colleagues of different culture at Walden university. We have worked together sharing ideas and perspectives, supporting one another’s growth through interactive discussion and blog posts. I wish our adjourning stage would give me the opportunity to meet everyone in person, in form of an informal ceremony, where we get to talk wine and dine as professionals in the field. I believe some of us would still continue our relationship after this program. We have been like a team, working together for a common goal to acquire a higher degree to make a difference in the lives of young children and their family across the world and the early childhood field in generally. An adjourning phase is therefore needed and I truly hope and pray I am a part of it. I wish everyone all the best in this course and the rest and hope we meet to perform the last stage of our team building.

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