Adjourning

Adjourning is the final stage of team development and it is when the group has come to a completion point in their project. Sometimes it can be difficult to say good-bye especially when you have formed a bond with the people you are working with and the process of developing and completing the project was an overall positive experience. I often find that when I go to training I develop and close connection to those who I am working with. At trainings I tend to sit with people with whom I have never met or the training instructors have placed in that particular group before the sessions begin. I went to a conference last July on cultural competency and I was paired with a woman from Atlanta who had similar viewpoints on cultural competency as I did. The conference consisted of many teach back moments where we were required to roll play scenarios on how best to handle different cultural dilemmas. I enjoyed working with the young woman and since that conference we have kept in contact through email from time to time and she has recently graduated with her master's degree. Saying good-bye in this situation was not too difficult because we had exchanged email address in order to keep in contact with one another.

Dealing With Conflict

This assignment touched home for, especially with this weekend. My husband and I have a 7 week old baby and we are still working on a sleeping schedule for him. Every week it gets a little bit better but it is still a process none the less. Well my husband believes that it is my responsibility to get up in the middle of the night (sometimes 2 or 4AM) to feed him because he does not (I quote) "feel like getting up". Well I told him sometimes I don't either but he is OUR child and we share the responsibilities as parents. Of course a huge argument broke out and he stressed how he didn't see a problem with it and I should be more understanding to his needs and I had the same argument with him. Finally after a screaming match for about an 1/2 hour I decided to walk away. All day Saturday I did not speak to him because I felt hurt that he could not be understanding to my needs. I felt that we both worked a full time job and I am in school as well as being a new mother. On Sunday my husband sat down with me and apologized for his comments and stated that he wanted to come to some type of agreement. We decided that after work he would allow me some time to complete my school work while he tends to our son. We are agreed that I would go to bed around 8pm and get around 5 hours of sleep before our son wakes up for his night feeding. My husband sits up with him until 11 or 12pm and puts him to bed and he sleeps until 6am so that he can go to work in the morning. We tried our new schedule out last night and I admit that I woke up this morning rested because I was able to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. By sitting down and having a honest conversation we were able to develop a strategy where both of our needs were met. I am glad this worked out because I am expecting my Valentine's gift this Friday lol.

Who Am I As a Communicator?

The assignment this week brought me great insight on how I view myself and how others viewed me. When I evaluated myself I found out that I my level of anxiety when speaking in front of people was mostly just situational. I realized that I am a good speak and communicator but I do get nervous when speaking in front of large crowds. My co-worker and mother evaluated me and they felt that I did not have anxiety and that I was a great speaker which surprised me. My mother stated that when I do have to speak in front of people she could never tell that I was nervous because I always maintained my composure and completed the task at hand. Through this assessment I also learned that my co-worker, mother and myself were all on the same page and agreed that I was a great listener and that I did not pass judgment on others and allowed them to express themselves freely. The one thing that I learned from O'Hair & Wiemann (2012) was that we cannot stereotype individuals. Stereotyping is just the process of passing opinions and judgments on individuals to simply place them in a category to be generalized.