Adjourning Stage

When I think of the phase adjourning, I think of closure.  I have worked on several teams in my career in business, some ended with the adjournment phase some did not.  The ones that ended with the adjournment phase tended to be more formal type of team situation.  These formal type team situations encompassed more established norms and rules and tended to last for a longer period of time than the other team situations.  We really got to know each other as we bonded through our projects.  I can think of a project that I worked on with a group of people while at Hewlett Packard.  This project lasted only a week, but it was a formal situation where we used project management theories to complete the project.  Each of the members was from different offices in the Northeast.  We meet in Maryland.  When the project was over there was a big dinner at the hotel where the leader handed out awards and everyone got to speak about their experience working on the team.  It was nice, but hard to part because we really got to know each other and worked well together on the project.  I meet a woman from the Virginia office that I befriended we kept in touch even after the project was over.  We would discuss work and what new things she was working on while I share with her what I was up to.  Over all it was a good experience, because our project was a success, I learned a lot and got to meet a great group of people.  In my opinion the better the project turns out the harder it is to say good by to the group.

I think the adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because this is when you have the opportunity to discuss the project, what went right and what needed work.  This is where you build on your skills.  It is a time to acknowledge team members for their contributions and talents.  I would hope that if my colleagues were to attend graduation we might get together for dinner to discuss our experiences working on our master's degree together.  If we don't meet at graduation, I guess we would send each other emails wishing each other well as we move on from Walden University.