Adjourning

“It’s so hard to say good-bye to yesterday”…. BOYS II MEN

As I was studying the Five Stages of building a team, I ran across this wonderful video that broke down these stages  through one of my favorite movies: Remember the Titans”.

                “Adjourning is the stage of group development in which members reflect on their accomplishments and failures as well as determine whether the group will disassemble or take on another project” (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012). I believe that highest performing groups are both the easiest and hardest to leave. When a group is high performing, there is a sense of accomplishment and success achieve within these groups making it easy to adjourn. The trust and commitment of each individual establishes a bond that supports meaning in their relationships making it hard to say good bye. When I have adjourned from a group, some of the rituals that took place were: closing ceremonies, presentations, and just a simple ending session. I imagine adjourning from my group of colleagues in my master’s program through our graduation ceremony. I imagine meeting and hugging each and every one of them, thanking them for making my online learning experience a wonderful one, as it has been. Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because it is signifies growth and learning experiences as a team and also serves a segue to more team projects.   

 

 

Reference: http://youtu.be/hEJaz3sinEs

 

Disagreements and Conflicts

In the field of early childhood care and education, teachers, parents, and administrators play an integral part in the holistic success of the children we service. But sometimes the influential individuals that are a part of this web of supporters do not agree. I was currently the mediator for a situation that happened between a teacher and a parent. To make a long story short, the child broke out with an unidentified rash, so the teacher approached the parent, questioning her about his condition. The teacher then proceeded to bring the child inside of the building, away from the other children. The parent was offended by her child being isolated. The parent went to the assistant director requesting that her child be taken out of that teachers’ classroom. When the incidence was bought to my attention, I took a minute to reflect on the situation. I wanted to think about the intentions of the teacher and the feelings of the parents. I took the opportunity to talk to both the teacher and the parent. And then we took the opportunity to meet together to dispel the friction and tension between the two that had developed. Two strategies that I have learned about is the Platinum Rule and Active Listening. The Platinum Rule allowed me to get them both involved in considering the perspectives of the other person. This broke the ice for them to begin talking about how their relationship was before this situation happened. Then, I was able to incorporate the process of active listening to successful get the two women to effectively communicate and eventually apologize for the confusion and give each other hugs. The parent actually bought lunch for the teachers the next day.

                The Pre-K Master Teacher that works alongside myself is an individual that I have sought input and advice on several instances. I consider her an extremely effective communicator. I asked her how she learned to be a more effective communicator as it relates to conflict resolution skills. Her response to me was, “I learned how to become an effective communicator by going through countless conflicts that I had to find resolutions to.” This statement was so profound. I completely agree that one way to become an effective communicator is to go through the process of communicating over and over again, finding ways to be a neutral entity, and compromising for the better good.

Communication Evaluation

 

                This week’s blog assignment included an evaluation that I conducted on myself and I had to choose two other individuals to evaluate my effectiveness in speaking, listening, and communication anxiety. The three assessments began by informing me that the best way for this assessment to be accurate was if I were to be honest. The test was pretty simple in strategy and technique. They contained 20-21 questions per assessment and ranged in degrees from always to never.

                Comparing the three evaluations revealed that the Listening Styles, Communication Anxiety Inventory, and Verbal Aggressiveness Scale all ranked within the same category. For Listening Styles, I scored highest in Group 1 deeming my style to be people-oriented. In Communication Anxiety Inventory, my score ranged in the 21-33 categories, labeling my communication anxiety Low. Verbal Aggression scale ranked at a Moderate level with my scores averaging between 53-68.

                One thing that surprised me the most is how all three of our evaluations were similar. I believe that most of the time I cope with anxiety, avoid verbal aggressiveness, and listen effectively. It made me feel good that others think this way about me as well. It a very tedious task to supervise 18 adults and try to be consistent and calm even when everyone else is in an uproar.

                Two insights that I have learned this week have encouraged me to continue striving to become a competent communicator. The evaluations served as an instrumental tool in envisioning how well I am doing and also some improvements that I need to make. It was equally important to know how others evaluated my ability to communicate. Part of being an effective leader is the ability to listen, speak, and deal with anxiety, not only for you, but for all others as well, including children, families, colleagues, and teachers. I think that as professionals, these assessments should be done on a regular basis for each individual in the work place. Being a competent and effective communicator both professional and personally has the limitless possibility to overcome barriers in communication, dispel cultural myopia and bias schemas, and positively influence our interactions and engagements with everyone that we come in contact with.

               

 

 

Communication Strategies

Communicating across cultures can be a challenge. As I reflect on this week’s blog question, I can honestly say that I do not communicate differently with people from other cultures but, however, sometimes my communication skills are similar and differ between contexts. For example, in my professional occupation, I communicate utilizing a linguistic intelligence solely related to early childhood care and education, while in a relational context I may utilize a different language context from my speech repertoire such as euphemisms or slang, which is more relaxed and informal when I am around friends and family.

Strategies that I could use to help me communicate more effectively with various people or groups include:

(1). Practice active listening

(2). Avoid cultural assumptions

(3). Practice being patient

(4). Ask for clarification

(5). Check for understanding

(6). Develop cultural awareness

 

 

Communication Video: http://youtu.be/8-hGDlifwhg

Verbal and Nonverbal Cues

 

                For this week’s assignment, I chose to watch a football game. Being that I am not really in to sports, I figured that viewing this game with sound off for the first half, then on for the second half, would be both a challenge and good experience for me as I try to master the skill recognizing verbal and nonverbal cues. The characters’ relationships based on the ways in which they were communicating, were that of uniformity and cohesiveness. Because football players do not have time to talk while they are on the field, I believe they relied largely on instinct, eye contact, hand gestures and body movement.  As  I watched the second half with the sound on, I observed the teams relationship as being in tuned with one another. I believed that they utilized a deeper level of concentration that allowed them to use nonverbal cues on the field as their ears. I didn’t make any assumptions about the characters  or plot for which I interpreted from the communication that I observed. I am, however, impressed with the way the team members were able to perform at a high speed regardless of the roar crowd, the expectations of the coach, and the pressure to win the game. I believe that my impressions would have been the same if I had been watching a television show that I like, such as Law & Order: SVU.  I believe this is true being that some messages are subliminal causing viewers to pay closer attention to nonverbal cues such as gestures, body movement, environments, or tone of voice. I believe that this assignment was a great experience in creating an awareness and responsiveness to verbal and nonverbal cues. Being that communication is multifaceted, across a variety of contexts, it is essential to becoming effecting in interpreting what you see, hear, and listen to when working with children, families, and communities in the field of early childhood care and education.

Competent Communicator

 

            I believe that “attitude reflects leadership”. I also believe that good communication is the greatest asset that any organization, team, or group can have. The person that I believe demonstrates a competency in communicating would be the director at the early learning institution for which I service. I have been under his leadership for 4 years and the characteristic that I admire most about him is his consistency in behaviors. I have yet to witness him enter the center without speaking to each and every one of the employees, parents, and students. He exhibits great interpersonal skills that are effective when dealing with various situations. He honors the “open door” policy which makes it easy for anyone to come into his office to express concerns, offer suggestions, or just to listen to the gospel music that he plays each day. He maintains a mutual respect for management, staff members, and families that make our organization operate efficiently. His behavior, interactions, and attitude is always positive, even when it is dealing with disciplinary actions.

            I model my own communication behaviors after his because of his actions are no different than his words. He does expect his employees to do something that he would not do. He serves as a role model by setting standards and expectations that are verbal, written, and performed. I am truly impressed by his ability to maintain his professionalism in any given situation. I have never witnessed him allowing his personal emotions or opinions cloud his professional judgment and what’s best for our organization. I hope to be as great of a leader and competent and effective communicator as he is through both his verbal and non-verbal mannerisms.

Professional Hopes and Goals

When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, one hope that I have is to create a learning environment that innovates children and families to become unique individuals beyond the differences of their physical characteristics by creating a respect, awareness,  and attitude that enhances responsiveness, positive self-esteem, and anti-bias social identities.  I believe that it is essential that we impart in the minds and attitudes of children and families with the ability and capacity to embrace our similarities and differences as a part of our natural beings before there is the opportunity to experience the micro aggressions that plague their minds, emotions, and outcomes.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that we continue to maintain a proactive approach that dispels these issues/trends in the early learning environment.

I would like to thank my colleagues and instructor for their thoughts, expertise and experiences that has provided me with enlightenment and insight as we continue our professional and educational journey through the field of early childhood care and education and Walden U. Thank you.