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 purposeA clear structure for communication

Group Dynamics

“The social processes operating within the group between individual members.”

SUB GROUPSSmall groups contained within the whole group

GROUP DYNAMIC SOCIOGRAMThe best way ofillustrating the group dynamics ofa team.

TO ACHIEVE COHESION• Break down cliques and sub groups • Separate pairs• Integrate isolates

Team sports rely onunits within the teamWorking closelytogether

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)

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqssHU6c3k8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_re05XbQd_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 COHESIONThe way team members work together tosuccessfully completea task, e.g. a football team setsOut to win by adopting attackingTactics at home & away matches

Vital in INTERACTIVE Sports, e.g. hockey

SOCIAL COHESIONThe personal relationships within a group which relieson individuals enjoyingsocial 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 ProcessesCo-ordination Losseso 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 Losseso 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

Forming Storming Norming Performing

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

Directing High High Low Low

Supporting Low High High Low

Focus •Individual tasks

•Team relationships•Working through differences

•Team processes•Self Development•Self Direction