Adjourning From Groups

    There have been several groups I have been involved in so far in my lifetime; I have been a cheerleader, a member in a work environment, a classroom, etc. Of the many groups I’ve belonged to I would say the hardest group I ever had to leave was my high school. Having been with the same friends and around the same classmates for 4+ years, and leaving to attend another school and pursue college was one a hard experience. I think this is because it was the switch from childhood to adulthood and was a journey I had to embark on my own to further myself.

    According to Gina Abudi, adjourning is the stage in which the team is looked at the “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). Although, leaving a team might be a difficult hardship, however it is imperative to continue to grow, which sometimes means that we continue on our own or in a new group.

    I would say high-performing groups are hard to leave, but it really depends on what you consider is high-performing. High-performing could be anything from the group in which you work on a project with, the friendships and bonds you have created, or being part of a group in which you have gained a great amount of pride or success in.

    In high school, in order to commemorate our accomplishments and give recognition on our departure from high school, we had a grad night celebration on a night cruise. This cruise consisted of food, dancing, raffles, and giveaways. For me to adjourn from my group of colleagues in my master’s degree program, I will carry over the knowledge and experiences from which we shared. It is significant that we adjourn from groups in order to reflect about all the experiences and moments we shared.  

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