Week 6

This week you read about the five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Consider the adjourning phase for several of the groups in which you have been involved. Think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye.

 Are high-performing groups hardest to leave?

            I think that high performing groups are hardest to leave because the people in the groups start to form a strong bond with each other. It shows that they are all committed to their work and because they are committed they would rather stay with other. High performing groups also share a bond that goes beyond working with each other it goes into hanging out together. They build friendships that will last for a long time so this is why high-performing groups are hardest to leave I think. Groups with the clearest established norms are the ones that hardest to say goodbye because they all have the same ideas which makes it easy for them to establish a relationship.

 Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why?

            The group that I participated in that was the hardest to leave was the high performing group. This group was the hardest to leave because I felt that I had a bond with these people that went beyond a friendship. I felt that we built friendship that made us feel like we were close like family and that we could tell each other everything.

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced?

            The only closing ritual that I have experienced is everybody in the group meeting up together and just talking about how we enjoyed working with each other. The ritual that I would have liked to experience is for everyone to go out together and eat and get to know each other more outside of the group.      

How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program?

            I think that I will adjourn from the group of colleagues I have formed while working on my master’s degree in this program is that we will all build a strong relationship with each other and have more than just being colleagues.

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

            Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because in order to do well in a group I think that everyone must get a long so that everyone can do great in the group.

Week 5

Think about any disagreements, or conflicts, you have recently experienced or are currently experiencing at work with a supervisor or colleague, or someone in your personal life. Share at least two strategies you have learned about that might help you manage or resolve the conflict more productively, and why these strategies might be effective. For example, could you suggest a compromise? Could you look for a broader range of solutions to your disagreement? Could you use some of the principles of nonviolent communication or the 3 R's to better help you resolve this conflict?

I am a pretty outgoing person and one who does not really have any disagreements or conflicts. I have not recently or are currently experiencing any conflicts or disagreements at work with anybody. I remember having a conflict before at work and when I did it was because one of the employees was not doing work and I felt like I was doing all the work. My colleague did not want to do any work because she felt like she was new on the job so she didn’t have to do anything. I started to get frustrated because she only had one task to do was put up clothes. She had already been there for a few days and I think that she knew what to do by then. Although I knew nothing about the 3 R’s at the time I did stop and think to make sure I respect her because I wanted the same in reciprocal. I already had a relationship with her because she was my colleague.

Also, if appropriate, ask your colleagues for their input and advice regarding, if not specific problems, how they have learned to be more effective communicators as it relates to conflict resolution skills.

            How would you have handled this situation using the nonviolent communication?

My CommunicationSkills

After taking the assessments that were given for this week the two people that I got to evaluate me was my twin sister Myisha and my best friend Natasha. During the assessment I was not so surprised  how both of them perceived me because the way I perceived myself was the way they did as well. I know that for a fact I am not as great of a communicator as I would like to be. One reason that I am not as great of a communicator that I would like to be is because I take a very long time to get my point across sometimes. I always make a short story long and I lack in self confidence in some areas of communication. One being job interviews and another is talking in big groups. Natasha and Myisha tells me this all the time and I think that it is because they want me to gain those things and believe that I can make a long story short, do great in groups, and go into an interview being confident but not overly confident. As far as my verbal aggressiveness goes I tend to not say much to others around me when I need to.

One thing that I have learned during this week is that I need to make sure I get my point across when talking to others and be confident when doing so. Another thing that I have learned is that no matter what I need to  make sure I understand that practices makes perfect and I just need to effectively communicate with others and in certain situations. I think that when it comes to being verbally aggressive I always think about others before I say anything even if I am right and they are wrong in whatever situation it may be. I think it’s just because I don’t like confrontation.