As we move on...

It is so crazy to me to think we are already done with another course.  We're all moving on to our specializations and I can't help but think of how fast the time has gone by!  We should all be done by the summer if that is the case....we got this!!!  It has been so nice to be able to see a correlation between my personal and professional life and the courses that I take and this course was no different.  Just a couple weeks, my relationship of 6.5 years ended and I was left with a large feeling of where do I go from here???  Now, I'm not looking for sympathy or pity, but the irony of the situation is when I stop to reflect on where it could have all went wrong, what we truly lacked was communication.  We stopped really talking to each other and drifted apart, which created a lot of resentment in our relationship.  I don't think without this course I would have realized that and I also don't know if I could have kept going if it wouldn't have been for all of you.  The assignments kept my mind focused on something positive and it was nice to have the distraction.  I know we have never met face-to-face, but we have all shared in this journey together and I looked forward to working with each of you every week.  You have shared stories and experiences of your lives and I have learned a lot from all of you.  I wish that I could continue to work with each of you during my upcoming specialization courses in Administration, Management and Leadership, but even if I don't, it would be great to see and meet all of you at graduation.  Thank you for all the words of wisdom and good luck with future courses!!!  Enjoy the next two weeks off.....I think we've earned it!!!

Group Communication

     This post is really hard for me because I don't have a lot of experience working with teams at my work or at least not in the way I think this assignment is referring to.  I think high-performing groups are hard to leave because you are obviously quite good at getting the job done.  I think it really depends on the group though, because even low-performing groups could be hard to leave.  You have established relationships and may have even gotten to know people on a very personal level, so leaving them could be just as hard, even though you may not be as successful.  Relationships are what makes any groups and it's the relationships that are hard to leave behind.
     Again, I have not really worked or had a group that I had to leave, so I really do not know the answer to the question about which group has been the hardest for me to leave.  Just over a year and a half ago, I joined a new team of the managers I work with and I would hate to have to leave this group.  We may not always get everything accomplished or get it done perfectly, but they are a fine group of ladies and I consider all of them friends.  We have yet to establish any closing rituals because none of us are going anywhere soon.  I think we are still in the new stages of team forming and that is more where we are working on right now.
      When I think about this program ending, I think, Wow....I will have a lot of free time and a lot more money!!!  :)    But then I get sad because even though I have never met any of you face-to-face we have gone through this great thing together, struggled together, succeeded together and it is always sad and hard to leave that behind.  I think it is important to adjourn from a group because as you learn and grow, you could be best suited for other places and or you could be needed in other places.  Sometimes when you work with people for too long, no new ideas come in and there can almost be a lack in performance.  While it is hard to change, getting some fresh people and fresh ideas together could potentially make things better or at least different.