Theories underpinning team building
We’re talking about the building of a team here, not teambuilding, if that makes sense.
Daniel Abrahams is a former professional golfer who parlayed his experiences into the world of sports psychology. He’s now a published author, content producer, and consultant who focuses primarily on golf and soccer.
He recently shared his thoughts on what he described as the “theories underpinning team building.” It’s currently the middle of February, which means we’re less than two weeks away from our first official day of practice for spring sports in Oregon. As I’m personally preparing for tryouts and the upcoming season, building a team is at the forefront of my mind.
How do we make players feel valued? How do we create buy-in? What can I do to ensure that a senior who probably won’t play much at all, not only isn’t a distraction for the team, but an important contributor?
All questions that open up even more questions. Hopefully you find Daniel’s words as useful as I did. Here they are (I should also mention that he’s British, so you might see some slight variances in spelling):
How do you create a team? Perhaps this is a book… or perhaps I could write a few pertinent things in a word restricted post.
1. A team needs to meet players’ needs. You can perhaps consider the work of Abraham Manslow here. Players (probably) need to feel safe (how can you help them feel safe?). Players (probably) need some interaction with other people. Players (probably) need respect and recognition (build their sense of self-esteem by paying attention them).
Work hard as a coach to help your players move towards a sense of self-actualisation… they’ll never reach that summit (if that summit actually exists)! A greater sense of ‘me” can help lead to a greater sense of ‘we.’
2. A team needs to help players feel like they belong… like they’re part of the group. This can be underpinned by Social Identity Theory. How can you help players feel a sense of membership, a sense of identity, with your team? How can you help them feel like they grow in stature when part of your team? Look to differentiate your team… who are you… why is being you so good? What is unique about your team in this league, in this area, in this district, in this state?
What’s the vision for your team? What values can you help everyone align with? What behaviors are associated with those values? (But remember, individual differences and cognitive diversity are important. Yes, we want many commonalities, but we also want to celebrate difference. We want to take advantage of different lenses of the world.)
3. A team needs to help players take action. This can be underpinned by John Adair’s Action-Centered Leadership. The tasks of the team will not be met if team and individual roles and processes are not clear. Help every player have clarity as an individual player and as a teammate. Co-create acceptable individual objectives and plans for improvement. Retain a continued log of improvement for as many players as possible. Help players recognise what actions they need to engage in to be the very best individual they can be and the very best teammate.
