Fitness and Recreation Leadership PLF 4C Team Cohesion

What is a group? Defined by the way the group members interact among themselves Based upon interdependency to achieve a goal

Groups “ Groups are those social aggregates that involve mutual awareness and the potential for interaction ” (McGrath) GROUPS (Carron) A collective identity A sense of shared purpose A clear structure for communication

Group Dynamics “ The social processes operating within the group between individual members. ” SUB GROUPS Small groups contained within the whole group GROUP DYNAMIC SOCIOGRAM The best way of illustrating the group dynamics of a team. TO ACHIEVE COHESION Break down cliques and sub groups Separate pairs Integrate isolates Team sports rely on units within the team Working closely together

What is a Team? Any group of people who must interact with each other to accomplish shared objectives Based on interdependency and common goals Evolutionary process, constantly developing Changes due to internal and external factors

Being on a Team Teams are very powerful entities, and anyone who has had the pleasure of coaching or playing on cohesive ones, whether task or socially cohesive, can attest to the magic that can come from that type of competitive involvement. Members of a team will do things they never thought they would…good and bad!!

Team Chemistry versus Team Cohesion. The concept of team chemistry is a nebulous one, and sports psychologists prefer to talk about team cohesion, which can be defined as “the set of forces that act upon members of the team to help them reach a common goal.” Why do individuals want to be a member of a team?

TEAM CHEMISTRY –TORONTO RAPTORS

What is group cohesion? A process where the group stays together in pursuit of a goal and/or needs (Carron, 1999 Defined by the way: – members interact – interdependency – what activity they perform (click for activity demo) what activity they perform

Teamwork must be taught! ”Teamwork is taught. You don’t just lump a group of people together in a room and call them a team and expect them to behave like one”….Pat Summit, Basketball Coach It’s easy to find great players. What’s hard is getting people to play as a team. That’s the selling job….Chuck Daly, USA Basketball Coach

Team Cohesion Activities 3k8 3k8 Qd_g Qd_g

How do team cohesion and team success go together? High cohesive teams are more successful Cohesion increases performance by producing higher levels of effort Some studies have found a negative relationship between cohesion and performance. E.g. New York Yankees in the 1970s

Why are there inconsistencies? Differing task demands Interactive sports require team members to work together. – e.g. football, soccer, hockey, and basketball Coactive sports require much less, if any. – e.g. baseball, tennis, track & field Direction of causality

No “I” in Team, but there is a “Me” Coaches often say there is no "I" in team (although there are the letters for the word "me"!). This saying is predicated on the importance given to team cohesion. This can be seen as being comprised of two dimensions: task and social cohesion.

Social Cohesion Social cohesion "reflects the degree to which members of a team like each other and enjoy each other's company" Is social cohesion necessary for success, with success being defined as being a winning team?

Task Cohesion The goal of winning or completing a task. Whatever the social conflicts that may have been present, those teams had talent and exceptionally strong task cohesion.

Group Cohesion “ The extent to which a group sticks together in pursuit of a common goal. ” TASK COHESION The way team members work together to successfully complete a task, e.g. a football team sets Out to win by adopting attacking Tactics at home & away matches Vital in INTERACTIVE Sports, e.g. hockey SOCIAL COHESION The personal relationships within a group which relies on individuals enjoying social interaction, e.g. strong Bond developed whilst on tour. Vital in CO-ACTIVE sports, e.g. track and field

Does performance lead to cohesion or does cohesion lead to performance? With recent hockey studies across a season and female field hockey teams the results indicated that cohesion leads to greater performance.

Is there research on this stuff? What does research suggest about the relationship of cohesion and performance? Perhaps not surprisingly, task cohesion is positively linked with performance, more so than social cohesion.

How does Team Cohesion lead to Team Success? Player satisfaction Less turn over in the group More influence on member’s behaviour Teams high in cohesion can better resist disruptions Teams that stay together tend to be more cohesive which leads to improvements in performance More adherence to arriving on time, attend, less likely to drop out, and high level of belief in one’s ability (self-efficacy).

Key Leadership Factors in Team Cohesion Leadership style is vital to team cohesion Clear communication Team goals Team members’ roles Enhancing feelings of cohesion Compatibility between coach and athletes

Key Factors to Team Cohesion What is the task to accomplish Whether it is an individual or team sport Strong desire to be successful (History) Shared experiences of successes Team stability (length of time playing together)

Factors that help build team chemistry Motivation Respect Trust Pride Good Communication Defined Roles Group Norms Common Goals Team Identity

7 C’s of Championship Team Building Common goal Commitment Complementary Roles Clear communication Constructive conflict Cohesion Credible coaching

Would Humans do better without Groups? Social Loafing Conformity De-individualizing Group thinking These are the negative aspects of group formation.

Faulty Processes Co-ordination Losses o These occur when the ‘ operational effectiveness ’ of the group cannot be sustained for the whole match. o Planned strategies/tactics may go wrong due to positional error or bad timing, e.g. pressing in basketball A co-ordination loss that leads to a breakdown in team work is called the RINGLEMANN EFFECT. Problems with team co-ordination are more likely to increase as the number of team members increase. Motivation Losses o This may occur if the task is too difficult. o Also an individual might suffer loss of motivation causing them to withdraw effort and coast through that part of the game. They hide! A motivation loss that leads to a reduction in effort is called SOCIAL LOAFING. This is when an individuals efforts go unnoticed or when someone feels like the others on their team are not trying hard enough. People with low SC tend to be loafers.

Stages of group formation.

Leadership Style FormingStormingNormingPerforming Objective Introductions Set objectives Communicate: tell Dealing with distractions Resolve conflict Facilitate relationships Discuss team progress Communicate: sell Promote openness Share decision- making responsibilities Develop team processes Communicate: consult Encourage learning Coach team members Delegate responsibility Communicate: join Promote self- criticism Observe and support DirectingHigh Low SupportingLowHigh Low FocusIndividual tasks Team relationships Working through differences Team processes Self Development Self Direction