Team Building and Collaboration

Leaving a group has never been a very difficult thing for me to do.  I am usually ready to make some changes or have the project be over by the time we get to the end.  As I have gotten older I realize the importance of not burning bridges and to leave a group feeling good about the other people and on a positive note.  Just when you think you will never see someone again you do.  If that is not the case, you know someone who does know them and you wish you would have done something differently.

I think the hardest groups to leave are those that you make friendships with.  I feel like a broken record but I don't build relationships with others very easily and put up walls during group times to avoid getting let down so don't build attachments to others.  As far as leaving a project I am so competitive that completion is almost as much of a reward as what the actual project produces.  I enjoy the thrill of deadlines, making a plan and getting things done correctly and quickly. 

When I am in groups I tend to pick the part of the projects that I can work on by myself or don't need a bunch of people to complete it.  This way I do not have to rely on others to get my piece done and I am in control of the pace and the outcome.

Geez, I sound really bad.  That is not true.  I am definety to controlling and competitive but awareness is half the battle, right?  As I proceed through my Masters degree I also am learning how to control these emotions more effectively and be more of a team player.  It is definetly a work in progress.

I think the importance of closure is good for any relationship.  It opens you up for the new task.  If you don't review the good and the bad of a particular task you will always wonder and second guess the choices you made.  Constructive feedback is really helpful so you are able to move forward and not make the same mistakes again, or at least try too. 

Saying good bye to some of the colleagues in this class will be unfortunate.  Louann has been with me since the beginning.  Terri was with us for awhile but haven't seen her in our group lately.  It is interesting to know a lot about someone without actually meeting them.  On-line dating is the same way.  I met my current boyfriend on-line.  I knew so much about him maybe because we could email and talk onthe phone about anything because we didn't have that romantic, emotional bond yet that happens sometimes after a first date.  Typically on a first date you get to know so much about the other person but I already knew so much about them  Same with Louann and others that have been in several of my groups.  I already know so much about Louann, at least professionally, who she is as a person, and a little bit about her family and we haven't even met.  I have enjoyed learning from them and enjoy seeing them in my group when we start a new class.  As we seperate into different specialiazations I am sure I will find others who will be in many of my classes and get to know them as well.