Conclusion

These past eight weeks have flown by.  I have learned so much from each and everyone one of you throughout this course.  I just wanted to say thank you!  I wish everyone good luck in their future courses.  It is hard to believe that we are starting our specialization courses!  My specialization is Teaching Adults.  I hope to see familiar faces in this!  Again, thank you and best of luck to everyone. 

Adjourning

            One of the aspects that make saying good-bye in projects difficult is the relationships I have built with the other team members.  Granted, we do keep in touch but it is not the constant communication I was used to during the project.  With my busy life, it is hard for me to keep in touch with people I am not immediately working with.  For example last year I was able to establish professional connections and friendships with people in advocacy project.  We were passionate about the vision and our work.  It was hard saying goodbye after the project was over especially after seeing our results.  It was wonderful to see how many people supported early childhood education and made it known to our state legislators. 

            When I left my previous job, it was also hard to say goodbye to everyone because of the relationships I had built with my coworkers.  It was hard to leave them and the children I taught, but it was easy to leave the company I was working for because we did not share the same vision.  My coworkers threw me a party and parents gave me goodbye presents.  It was emotional for me and I am still able to keep in touch with some of them.  But again it is hard since I do not see them or work with them on a regular basis. 

            In my experience, high performing groups are the hardest to leave.  I am driven by results and I love it when people can work together to accomplish results.  It is the bond and drive that I miss when working by myself or in groups that lack this.  High performing groups usually have clear goals, roles, and trust.  With these factors, the group can work together to accomplish anything.  It is hard to leave this type of atmosphere and group work.

            Most of the closing rituals I have experienced are parties/celebrations.  Everyone gets together and celebrates the project and team members on such a good job.  I feel this is important so everyone can congratulate each other on a good job and enjoy being together one last time.  I believe this is why adjourning is essential to the group.  It is a way to let everyone know that they are appreciated and the joy it was working with everyone. 

            I imagine adjourning from the group of colleagues I have formed while working on my degree by exchanging contact information.  This way we can keep in touch in the future.  I have already done this with a few of my colleagues.  Another way to adjourn would be meeting up at graduation.  Hopefully I will be able to see some and meet them face-to-face during our commencement ceremonies. 

Conflict Resolution

            It is funny that this assignment came up this week due to what is being happening in my professional life.  Being a supervisor is not an easy job and I am quickly learning to take my personal thoughts out of some situations.  This week was one example.  I attended a training with some of my colleagues and one of them is a bit of a complainer.  She complains about everything, does not want to do the work, and is very frustrating to me.  Needless to say we ended up in some disagreements.  When reflecting about what I have learned this week, I think nonviolent communication (NVC) would be an effective strategy to approaching my colleague.  I do feel that part of our problems is how we are communicating with each other.  I am constantly thinking of different ways to communicate with her so she will understand what I am trying to say.   If I approach with NVC, I can be an empathic listener while clearly stating my needs.  I think if they are clearly stated and I do it in an appropriate manner, they can be met which is important for my job.  She is also a defensive person so if I can approach her in this gentle, non-judgmental manner, our communications will be more productive.

            Another strategy that I want to use and feel will be effective is looking at my verbal aggressiveness.  I sometimes cannot separate the issue from my personal feelings and thoughts.  I want to somehow include them in the conflicts or conversations we are having.  As we have learned, this is not productive or effective.  In fact, these things can escalate the situations.  If I can work on my verbal aggressiveness, our conversations will be better.  I need to focus on the issues and not get caught up in distractions of personal attacks.  Last week’s evaluations were eye-opening in the fact that if I work some on my verbal aggressiveness, I can be more empathic and change people’s minds without conflict.  This would be ideal when communicating with this particular colleague.

            I have talked with my supervisor on how she handles conflict.  She has a reputation for being neutral, treating everyone fairly, and playing the devil’s advocate in situations in order for people to see the other side.  Although when she is involved in the conflict, she does like to avoid confrontations.  She admitted that she is still working on how to handle conflicts herself, especially when it comes to verbal communication.  She sometimes says the first thing that comes to her mind without thinking about how it sounds.  She is learning how to filter what she says, step back and look at the situation, and have more of an open mind.

            When dealing with this particular colleague, I asked what I should do.  Not to sound like a popular Disney song, she reminded me that I needed to let some things go.  I do get caught up in my personal thoughts and it affects how I communicate.  She reminded me to forget about some of my hot buttons and let the little things go.  We have policies in place that will handle some of the issues and I needed to trust the process.  This was eye opening and I am going to work on these things.