THANK YOU

As we end this class, I would like to thank all of my colleagues for the knowledge and experiences they have shared with me throughout this course. I have learned so much from each one of you. You have encouraged me and inspired me to continue the work I am doing in this profession. I know this will not be the last time we all cross paths but I wish you all the best.

Stages of Team Development

When I was in college, I worked at the Gap Outlet. I had been their for a while so I had built relationships with my managers and my co-workers. Since most of us had started working their at the same time, we were like a little family that supported and encouraged each other. After I graduated, I decided to move back home to Atlanta, which was three hours away. I had considered staying because I really cared about those I worked with and part of me didn't want to leave. It was hard to say good-bye because I felt like I was leaving my second family. They took me in and helped me out when I faced some hard times. When I could not go home to my own family they took me in. They were their for me to talk and they helped me during times when I felt like giving up. We didn't just work together, we actually spent time outside of work together. Before I left we all got together and just hung out. We had fun that night just reminiscing on all the fun things we had experienced throughout the year. Just sharing that time with them and hearing all their encouraging words made leaving a little easier. We vowed to keep in touch as much as possible. When thinking about how I will adjourn from the group of colleagues that I have formed, I hope that we are able to still keep in touch, whether it be through our blogs or email.  I feel that adjourning is essential to the stages of teamwork because it gives time to give closure and wish others good luck on their future endeavors. I feel that groups that form on the basis of the five stages and have been built off of meaningful relationships are more likely to groups that stay in contact with each other. It is likely that any group that reached Stage 4: Performing will keep in touch with each other as they have become a very close knit group and there will be sadness at separating and moving on to other projects independently (Abudi, 2010).

Reference:
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

Conflict Resolution

In considering disagreements and/or conflicts I have recently experienced one strategy or approach that I could have used would be the win/win approach. "The win/win approach is about changing the conflict from adversarial attack and defense, to co-operation.
It is a powerful shift of attitude that alters the whole course of communication (CRN)." In my instance, I was having an issue with my assistant and feeling like she was  basically not doing her job in the classroom. I felt that because she had been in that class for a long time and no one has said anything about her actions that she felt as if she was doing anything wrong. In my case, even though I didn't say anything to her and management did nothing to help the problem that I just let it go and did nothing about it. Instead of saying something to her I basically picked up her slack because in the end it all fell on me anyways. I had gotten to the point where I only expected her to do what she usually did which was nothing. She never really interacted with the kids and didn't help when it came to planning. I think another reason I sat back and didn't say anything because I didn't know who how to approach the situation and I didn't think she would respect my thoughts because she had been their much longer than I had and was older than I was. Anyways, I think the win/win approach would work because its a resolution that focuses on us coming up with a way to work together and both of our needs and wants are met. By working on our needs and not just a solution we can address all our issues. "Addressing each person's underlying needs means you build solutions that acknowledge and value those needs, rather than denying them (CRN)."

I think another approach I could have used would be the creative response approach to conflict. This approach is about turning problems into possibilities. In my issue, I never really approached the situation. I just complained about how bad it was but never did anything about it. I could have chose to see what could be done, rather than staying with how terrible it all was.

Reference:

Conflict Resolution Network. (n.d.) CR Kit. http://www.crnhq.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3