The Sport Team As an Effective Group

1. Chapter 8 The Sport Team As an Effective Group Mark Eys, Shauna Burke, Bert Carron, & Paul Dennis “I’m humiliated, not for the loss--I can always deal with wins and losses--but I’m disappointed because I had a job to do as a coach, to get us to understand how we’re supposed to play as a team and act as a team, and I don’t think we did that.” Larry Brown 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball coach Quote given after losing preliminary round

2. What Athletes Say “You have to sacrifice yourself for the good of the team, no matter what role you play on the team--whether you’re playing 30 minutes or two minutes a game.” Mark Messier NHL Player Six Stanley Cups

3. Introduction • Membership and involvement in a group is a fundamental characteristic of our society • Each of us interacts daily with numerous other people in group settings • family, work, social situations, sport teams • We exert an influence on other people in groups and, in turn, those groups and their members have an influence on us

4. Nature of Groups “Every Group Is Like All Other Groups, Like Some Other Groups, and Like No Other Group.” - Carron & Hausenblas • Every group not only contains characteristics that are common to every other group, but they also possess characteristics that are unique to themselves

5. Definition of Group “A collection of two or more individuals who possess a common identify, have common goals and objectives, share a common fate, exhibit structured patterns of interaction and modes of communication, hold common perceptions about group structure, are personally and instrumentally interdependent, reciprocate interpersonal attraction, and consider themselves to be a group.” - Carron & Hausenblas (1998)

6. Definitional Categories for Groups • Common fate • Mutual benefit • Social structure • Roles, norms, status differences, positional differences • Variety of group processes • Communication, cooperation, task and social interactions • Self-categorization • Part of a “we”

7. Talk freely Interested in welfare of whole group Feel associates are helpful Try to assist associates Refer to own group as “we” and to others as “they” Faithfully participate in group activities Not primarily there for individual success Concerned with the activities of other members Do not see others as rivals Not often absent Characteristics of Groups vs. Collection of Individuals

8. The Nature of Groups • Groups are dynamic, not static • They exhibit life, vitality, interaction and activity • Aspects of the group are variable • Sometimes groups are in harmony, sometimes not; communication is good, sometimes not • Commitment to the group goals may vary • All aspects tie into “cohesiveness” • Cohesion is the most important small group variable

9. Cohesiveness • The sum of the forces that cause members to remain in the group • The resistance of the group to disruptive forces • A dynamic process which is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs

10. Nature of Cohesiveness • Multidimensional • Remain united due to many factors • Dynamic • change over time with experiences • Instrumental • all groups have purpose • Affective dimension • social relationships • Goals are complex and varied • perceived in multiple ways by different groups and their members

11. Categories of Multidimensional Perceptions of the Group • Group integration • Each individual’s perceptions of the group as a total unit, set, or collection • Individual attractions to the group • Each individual's personal attractions to the group

12. Multidimensional Perceptions (cont.) Categories of perceptions are manifested in relation to the: • Group’s task • Social aspects

13. Model for Group Cohesiveness

14. Correlates of Cohesiveness • Environmental factors • Personal factors • Leadership factors • Team factors

15. Environmental Factors • Proximity • Individuals physically closer have a greater tendency to bond together (locker room, dorm, etc.) • Distinctiveness • Unity increases when the group becomes more separate from others (uniform, team mottos, tradition, history) • Size • Moderate sized groups showed the greatest cohesiveness, and larger and smaller groups exhibited the least (Inverted-U relationship)

16. Personal Factors • Satisfaction • Derived from many sources: quality of competition, social interactions, improvement in skill, recognition of others, relationship with coach • Most important personal factor • Competitive state anxiety • Higher task cohesion  cognitive anxiety • Higher task cohesion  view anxiety symptoms as facilitative to performance

17. Personal Factors (cont.) • Social loafing •  social loafing (reduction in individual effort when people work in groups versus when they work alone) • Similarity • “Birds of a feather flock together.” • Mixed support • Responsibility for negative outcomes  • Commitment  • Sacrificial behaviors 

18. Leadership factors • The interrelationships among the coach, the athlete, cohesiveness and performance are complex • Coaching factors that influence the level of cohesiveness: • Decision style • Democratic style correlates with  team cohesion • Compatibility between coaches and athletes and among athletes in task motivation

19. Team Factors • Cohesion is influenced by: • Structural characteristics • Roles and norms • Processes that take place between group members • Group goals, communication • Group performance outcomes

20. Team Factors: Roles • A set of behaviors that are expected from the occupants of specific positions within the group • Two categories • Formal roles • Explicitly set up by the group, individuals are trained for these roles • Informal roles • Evolve as the result of the interactions that take place among group members (e.g., leader, enforcer, social director, team clown)

21. Role Clarity vs. Ambiguity • Role ambiguity • Lack of clear consistent information regarding one’s role • Role clarity -- four aspects athletes must understand with regard to their role: • Scope of responsibilities • Behaviors necessary to successfully fulfill role responsibilities • How role performance will be evaluated • Consequences of unfulfilled role responsibilities

22. Role Acceptance • The success of the total team and the importance of all roles for team success should be continually emphasized – Higher cohesion if group members accept their roles

23. Improving Role Clarity & Acceptance • Coach-athlete individual meetings • Goal setting programs • Direct individual attention toward appropriate behaviors •  effort toward the task •  persistence in the task • Motivates the individual to develop strategies and action plans to accomplish the task

24. Roles (cont.) • Elements of role involvement that are important to group environment and contributors to cohesiveness • Role efficacy • Beliefs about capabilities to carry out role • Role conflict • Sending incongruent expectations • Role overload • Having too many role expectations • Role satisfaction • How happy athletes are with their given role

25. Team Factors: Norms • Standard for behavior that is expected of members of the group • Reflects the group's consensus about behaviors that are considered acceptable

26. Circular Nature of Norms with Team Cohesiveness Development of cohesiveness Development of norms

27. Four contexts in which norms exist Competition Practice Off-season Social situations Important norms within those contexts: Put maximum effort toward task Support each other Continue training and maintain contact Off-season norms Respect for each other Social situations Norms (cont.)

28. Team Factors: Group Processes • Group processes • Establish group goals and rewards • Communication • circular relationship to cohesiveness

29. Team Factor: Performance Outcome • Cohesion and performance relationship is circular -- true for: • Task cohesion • Social cohesion

30. Team Building Goal is the expectation that the intervention will produce a more cohesive group -- want team enhancement for both task and social purposes – Team building interventions are often indirect

31. Team Building Interventions Four stage process: • Introductory stage • Conceptual stage • Practical stage • Intervention stage

32. Stages of Team Building • Introduction stage • Provide a brief overview of the general benefits of group cohesion • Conceptual stage • To facilitate communication with coaches about complex concepts. • To highlight the interrelatedness of various components of the team-building protocol. • To identify the focus for possible interventions

33. Stages of Team Building (cont.) • Practical stage • To have coaches/exercise leaders, in an interactive brainstorming session, attempt to generate as many specific strategies as possible to use for team building in their group (see Table 8-2) • Intervention stage • Leaders introduce and maintain the team-building protocols

34. Enhancing Coach-Athlete Communication • Open communication channels by providing opportunities for athlete input • Develop pride and a sense of collective identity within the group • Strive for common expectations on what types of behavior are appropriate • Value unique personal contributions by emphasizing the importance of each of the roles that are necessary for group performance

35. Enhancing Coach-Athlete Communication (cont.) • Recognize excellence by rewarding exceptional individual performance • Strive for consensus and commitment by involving the total team in goal setting activities • Use periodic team meetings to resolve conflicts • Stay in touch with the formal and informal leaders in the team • Focus on success before contemplating failure

36. Summary • Groups are dynamic, not static • Exhibit vitality, interaction and activity • Subject to change, growth, modification, and improvement • Coach is in the best position to influence change in a positive direction • Essential for coaches to have knowledge of group structure, group dynamics, and group cohesiveness • provides base to form athletes into a more effective team