DREAM TEAMS: FROM COLLECTIONS
OF INDIVIDUALS TO
EFFECTIVE SPORT TEAMS
Group Dynamics
Group/Team Dynamics
• Anyone traveling around the
world and observing different
people can readily notice that
human beings spend a great
amount of time doing things
together in groups. German
sociologist, Kurt Lewin coined
the term "group dynamics" and
created fertile grounds for new
ideas such as "group culture"
and "group mind."
Anthropomorphic
Characteristics of Teams
• Do terms like "group mind," or "team spirit"
make any sense when examined through a
Newtonian perspective of reality?
• Can the extent of the team's spirit be somehow
measured?
• Is a team's performance a reflection of the
added individual talents of its individual
members or is a team's performance a
reflection of a sum that is greater, or smaller
than, the tally of each of the individual
performances?
Sir Isaac Newton
Given the fact that one has
all the necessary
information, according to
Newtonian physics, it is
possible, in principle, to
predict exactly how a
given event is going to
unfold.
Anthropomorphic
Characteristics of Teams
• Subatomic particles cannot be
pictured as an object, rather
they can be viewed as
"tendencies to exist" or
"tendencies to happen."
Experiments in the subatomic
realm demonstrate that there is
no way to predict individual
events at that level. Therefore,
quantum mechanics concerns
itself only with group behavior
(example of billiard balls vs.
subatomic particles).
Anthropomorphic
Characteristics of Teams
• Psychologists William McDougal and Floyd
Allport led two opposing views regarding
the "group mind" controversy (Gergen,
1982). F.H. Allport was a harsh critic of the
anthropomorphic conception of human
groups. In his view only individuals were
real and groups or institutions were "sets of
ideals, thoughts, and habits repeated in
each individual mind and existing only in
those minds (Allport, 1924)." (billboard
balls example).
Anthropomorphic Characteristics
of Teams
•McDougal, on the other hand, held the
position that groups, institutions, and culture
formed new realities and forces that could not
be explained by strictly adding the particular
individual group members' talents and
contributions. McDougal's view is analogous
to the relationships between subatomic
particles which mix and merge with the
neighboring particles and create new
relationships.
Characteristics of Teams
• Floyd Allport's individualistic
orientation was the dominating view in
academia until Mayo (1933) and his
associates reported their extensive
research at the Hawthorn plant of the
Western Electric Company. What
started as a project to investigate the
relation between conditions of work and
the incidence of fatigue among workers
ended up changing radically and
irrevocably the thinking about industrial
worker dynamics.
Characteristics of Teams
• "The role of the leader began to shift
from one who directed work to one
who enlisted cooperation. The
incentive to work was no longer seen
as simple and unitary but rather
infinitely varied, complex, and
changing (Haire, 1954)."
Characteristics of Teams
• Sports, as most sport scientists
would agree, is a microcosm of
society--it mirrors the values,
structure, and dynamics of the
society in which it exists (Coakly,
1994). It is no wonder, therefore, that
the concept "group mind" was
eventually investigated in the realm
of sports and sports teams.
Social Entities Called “Group”
• Different groups, as well as sport teams,
display a great variety of properties such
as size, duration, objectives, internal
structures, norms and many other
aspects. The large variety of properties
displayed was the main reason for the
difficulty in the formulation of an all
encompassing definition of the term
"group."
“Group” Defined
• Homans (1950) "A group is defined by the
interaction of its members."
• Lewin's (1948) a group is best defined as
"...a dynamic whole based on
interdependence rather than on
similarity."
• Bass (1960) defined 'group' as "...a
collection of individuals whose existence
as a collection is rewarding to the
individuals." It does not take a sport
sociologist to see how each of the above
mentioned definitions of 'group' describe
some aspects of a sport team.
Cohesiveness and “Group Dynamics"
• Kurt Lewin (1935) coined the term
"cohesiveness” in (Cartwright & Zander,
1968) and the term "group dynamics."
The relationship between social cohesion,
group dynamics and sport team
participation and performance will be
examined. Athletes coaches and
researchers alike often assumed that
when players on a team display unity and
"stick together," they will have a greater
chance of team success.
Some Research on Cohesion
Positive Relationship
Negative Relationship
• Arnold & Straub, 1972
• Ball & Carron, 1976
• Carron & Chelladurai
1981
• Gosset & Widmeyer,
1981
• Widmeyer & Martens,
1978
• Melnick & Chembers,
1974
• Ruder & Gill, 1981
NO Relationship
• Landers & Lueschen,
1974
• Martens & Peterson,
1971
Developing the Sport Team
Concept
•
•
•
•
(1) proximity
(2) distinctiveness
(3) similarity
(4) group goals and rewards
(personal vs. group).
Group Structure
• Group roles: Formal vs. Informal
–role clarity, role acceptance, and
role performance
Establishment of Group
Norms
• norm for productivity
–"rate busting" and "malingering"
–stability of group norms (Jacobs &
Campbell, 1961)
Stabilizing Group Structure
• Show individual team members how
the group's standards can contribute
to the achievement of desirable
qualities for the team, more effective
team performance, and a greater
sense of team unity.
Zander (1982, cited in Carron, 1986, p. 82)
Stabilizing Group Structure
• Point out to all team members how their
contribution toward developing and
maintaining the standards can contribute
to the team's success.
• Develop a method of assessing whether
there is adherence to the group's
standards, and then reward those team
members who do adhere and sanction
those who do not.
Remember: Group members adhere best to those
decisions in which they have had input.
Zigon Appraisal of Group/Team
Performance
Performance elements are
evaluated by using a
minimum of three levels,
with a broadly defined fully
successful standard.
http://www.opm.gov/perform/articles/024.htm
How to Measure the Results of
Work Teams
Performance below the standard is
considered unacceptable, and
performance exceeding the standard is
considered exceptional.
http://www.opm.gov/perform/articles/024.htm
Zigon’s Seven-Step Process for creating
performance standards for teams (1-2)
(1) Review existing organizational measures.
Ensure that the measures above and around
the team are known and linked to the team's
measures.
(2) Define what's going to be measured. Zigon
offers four alternatives for identifying what
the team needs to measure. He comments
that selecting the best alternatives and using
them to identify the team's key
accomplishments provide the basis for all
further measurement.
Zigon’s Seven-Step Process for creating
performance standards for teams (3-4)
(3) Identify individual team member
accomplishments that support the
team. Identify the results each team
member must produce to support the
team's results or work processes.
(4) Weight the accomplishments.
Discuss and agree upon the relative
importance of each accomplishment.
Zigon’s Seven-Step Process for creating
performance standards for teams (5-7)
(5) Develop team and individual performance
measures. Identify the measurement (either
numeric or descriptive) that will be used to
gauge how well the results have been
achieved.
(6) Develop team and individual performance
standards. Define how well the team and
individuals have to perform to meet
expectations.
(7) Decide how to track performance. Identify
how the data for each performance standard
will be collected and fed back to team
members.
Discussion (methods 1-3)
• The first three methods of identifying
measurement points listed above focus
on measuring accomplishments. (Even
the fourth method, which focuses on
work process, looks at the results of
work at critical places in the process.)
Zigon defines work results as
accomplishments end products, not
activities. Accomplishments are what is
left behind when you go home; they take
the form of nouns, not verbs.
Properties Associated with
Cohesiveness
• Attraction to Group (a-t-g)
• Bidimensionality of Cohesiveness
• Social vs. task Cohesion
• Interpersonal Attraction (IA)
• Uniformity/Conformity
• Communication
• Perception (group vs. nongroup
members)
• Group productivity
Team Cohesiveness Defined
• Festinger, Schachter, and Back (1950):
...the sum of the forces that cause members
to remain in the group.
Gross and Martin (1951):
...the resistance of the group to disruptive
forces.
Carron (1982, p. 124):
...dynamic process which is reflected in the
tendency for a group to stick together and
remain united in the pursuit of its goals
and objectives.
Models of Team Cohesiveness
• Linear
• pendular
• life cycle
• Cohesiveness: A Positive or a Negative
Force?
• The Circular Nature of Team Cohesiveness
• Correlates of Team Cohesiveness
Models of Team Cohesiveness
• Practical Implications
• Summary and Discussion
Distinctiveness
• Solicit suggestions for team name and vote
on the submitted titles. Similarly, choose a
team logo and uniform. Create chants,
slogans, and team routines.
Individual Positions
• Assign personal lockers and personal
equipment. Let team members pick their
own spot in the grid or on the field during
warm-up, and encourage them to remain
in it throughout year.
Group norms
• Have members introduce each other to
increase social aspects. Encourage
members to become fitness friends.
Establish a goal to improve certain aspects
of a skill together. Promote a smart work
ethic as a group characteristic.
Individual Sacrifices
• Use the help of the more skilled team
members to improve the performance of
the less skilled ones. Ask individual
members for their goal for the day and try
to accommodate them, even though it may
not be the wish of the entire team.
Interaction and Communication
• Create activities that require a partner.
Make sure that team members practice, at
least for part of the time on any given day,
with a different partner. Create activities
that engage small groups and rotate group
members among the mini teams.
Infractions Releases
Infractions Releases