The Adjourning Phase

I have a really hard time working in groups.  I usually pull the weight, do all of the work because others don't and often times it seems as though I always care more than the rest of the group.  The last center I was at before I was promoted and transferred was really hard to leave.  We had created a collaborative, high-performing group, that consisted of working together, mutual trust and respect.  As a group, we knew what we needed to do everyday, we ebbed and flowed together almost seamlessly, were always willing to help each other out, and if there were problems, we were able to work through them.  It was a rare work atmosphere to experience, one that I hope everyday to have at my present center.  When I left, it wasn't goodbye, it was a see you later.  I knew that even though I was leaving, the group would continue to flourish and prosper, ebbing and flowing like they usually had. 
I imagine when I adjourn from the colleagues I have had the pleasure of working with while attaining my master's degree, I will leave with a feeling of being apart of something great, the feeling that others had similar experiences as I did and we were able to come out better educational professionals than we had begun as.  This stage is important because it is a shared success, with its ups and downs, highs and lows.  It is a celebration, not a tearful sad goodbye.  We know that we worked towards a common goal and made it, despite our individual personal stresses and roadblocks, we did it and we did it together.

Communication Perspectives

This week when I and three of my family and friends evaluated my communication and listening styles I was more surprised at how each person viewed my verbal aggressiveness level.  My friend was on par with the results I personally got, but my mother and husband each evaluate me right above or below where I had seen myself.  My husband sees me as being more verbally aggressive in stressful or upsetting situations with people I do not know and my mother saw me being low.  I think it was a moment of "ohhhhhh, noooo..." when my husband and I talked about how I responded to people I didn't know in not so ideal situations.  I have "seen the light" and know that I need to be more aware of how I react to strangers when upset and what I say. 

Two insights I gained this week about communication came from the resources and my professional life.  You can be an extremely effective communicator in your face to face interactions but in this time, you need to be just as effective virtually.  People tend to be more lax in their virtual interactions and do not see the importance even in just sending an email of communicating effectively.  I also gained insight in perceptions of self and others.  The way you perceive yourself and present yourself in professional situations greatly influences the perceptions of others.