Teamwork, EDUC 6165-6

There was a team that I was a part of this past summer.  While I have been and led teams of this kind on many occasions, this team was different.  To begin, this was the first team that I would lead of its size.  38 people in total would be traveling together and we would meet up with 3 while in Costa Rica.  The main difference in this team and others, the level of unity we had.  We were busy in Costa Rica, every minute we had something planned.  Each evening we would have a "breakdown" session where we would discuss what we did that day as well as hear about what would be happening the following day.  As the leader, it was my job to ensure everyone knew what was happening and what their expectations were.  Our entire time in Costa Rica we didn't have disagreements.  There were no fights among our group.  We were able to be great encouragers to each other as well as our purpose behind the trip.

It was hard leaving this group.  It was hard because there were strong friendships that were made within our group of people and those that we were working with.  We had a purpose and expectations that were clearly stated and I believe were met while we were there and continue to be reached even though we are not there any longer.  We worked effectively and grew tremendously with each other!

When my time with Walden University is complete, I can imagine that there will be professional relationships that would be built that I wish would continue.  The encouragement and idea exchange is an awesome attribute when growing and maturing with others as we have done throughout this coursework.   

Adjourning within group work is essential as it enables the team to evaluate their successes and their areas of improvement.  During this stage of team work, the project that the team had been working on should be completed and the task is closing.  At times during this stage, the group decides they no longer want to meet or they decide some changes need to be made within the setting and altar areas in order to make it more effective.  In any reason, adjourning is essential as it enables evaluation in order to maintain effectiveness.  Ultimately if a group is ineffective then alterations need to occur; which would happen during this stage as well.