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