Saying goodbye can be difficult in many circumstances we
find ourselves in both personally and professionally. I think our level of commitment
to the group weighs heavily into whether we can just walk away or whether we
have a difficult time. It was extremely
difficult for me to leave the mentors that I had recruited for a school-based
mentoring program I coordinated a few years ago. This group of individuals from
different sectors of our community made a commitment to meet with a student at
risk of dropping out of school for at least one hour every week. The individuals involved took time out of
their busy work day to meet their student at school and give them the
one-on-one attention many of them rarely received. When I made a career change, telling the group
I would be leaving was one of the hardest things I have ever done. This group
had become more than people I recruited to mentor at –risk children, they had
become my friends as well. I had serious concerns about what would happen to
the program after I left the agency which made saying good bye even more
difficult. Sadly, because of the time of
year I left the program, I wasn’t able to plan a closing event. It is something
I regret even now, five years later.
Over the past months as I have worked on my
master’s, I have had regular online contact with my classmates through our
discussions and blogs. The relationship is
certainly different than a face to face relationship which in my opinion, makes
adjourning from the group different. The personal connection is lacking so saying
goodbye for me will probably a closing blog entry to my classmates.
Adjourning
is important as a team completes their task because it provides everyone with
the opportunity to feel a sense of accomplishment and freedom to move to new
things. I think as part of adjourning,
the team has the opportunity to acknowledge each other for the work they
completed. As I think about my experience with leaving the mentoring program, I
realize now that formally adjourning from the group would have actually made it
easier for me to move on, a lesson learned.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Judith,
ReplyDeleteBecause at the end of th day it's about the group or team, their closure and their sense of
well-being that's important. That's what the adjourning stage of the group is meant to achieve.
Judi,
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I've really enjoyed about this class is the fact that every assignment has allowed me to reflect on what I have learned. I think it is important that you recognize that formally adjourning may have been better for both you and the group.
Judi,
ReplyDeleteIn any situation saying good bye is very hard. As I read your blog I begin to think about all the times I have had to say good bye. Recently I started teaching at a new school so I had to tell my old students bye which is always hard for me because I become attached to the students. I also thought about the times I have had to some good bye to loved ones, this is always hard because you know that they are in a better place however that doesn’t stop you from missing that person.
Judi,
ReplyDeleteI think allowing one another time to adjourn, time to acknowledge the accomplishments of the group is an important step in any group or committee. Keeping in contact with group members may also be beneficial in future endeavors.
Hi Judi,
ReplyDeleteI believe that adjouring from groups is closely related to closure. As you mentioned above it does give a person the freedom to move on knowing that a task is completed. I enjoyed reading your post.
Hi Judi,
ReplyDeleteThinking about adjourning for the blog assignment made me notice that we should be aware that any teams will adjourn eventually. This gave me more of a motivation for working on a team because I do not want to regret not doing my best all the time. I think we should be aware of all phases including adjourning so that we can see what we are doing objectively and act efficiently.
Aya
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ReplyDelete