Teams & Team Building

a group of 2 or more people who interact and exert mutual influences on each other. Share a common objective and interact with each other in formal ways.

A set of specific behavioral expectations for an individual group members. Group members may hold various perceptions of their role including the degree to which they understand, accept, enjoy, and feel capable in fulfilling their responsibilities

Being recognizable and distinguishable from other teams in the community

Social rules that prescribe what group members should or should not do in certain circumstances. Formally or informally developed by the group.

An environment where individual players can flourish and express their individual talents and where team’s performance becomes greater than the sum of its parts

-Groups develop by moving progressively through stages
-Critical issues arise at each stage and when resolved, the group moves on

Team members come together and engage in assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Undertake social comparisons with teammates

Interpersonal conflict is common as members of the team attempt to establish roles and status

Team members begin to see each other as a team united by a common goal

Team resolves to channel its energies as a cohesive unit into the pursuit of agreed goals

Allows a healthy level of conflict to ebb and flow in the team with defined limits. Helps eliminate complacency.

Total field of forces which act on members to remain in the group, acting together or working as a unit, dynamic process that is reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs

The desire of group members to complete a given task (teamwork)

The need of team-members to form and maintain interpersonal bonds (team spirit)

-Task – team member’s perceptions of the similarity and closeness within the group as whole regarding the task it faces
-Social – the individual’s feelings regarding the unification of the group as a whole

-Task – person’s feelings regarding their actual personal involvement with the team’s goal
-Social – feelings about the person’s own social interactions with the team

The method of helping the group to:
1. Increase effectiveness
2. Satisfy the needs of its members
3. Improve work conditions
Help the group enhance cohesiveness:
1. Interpersonal attraction
2. Commitment to a common task
3. Pride in the group

The psychologist works directly with the athletes in the team in an effort to increase cohesion

The psychologist works with the coach or manager and instructs them in the skills of team building

Provides coach with overview of benefits of cohesion or other outcomes such as group efficacy, group cognition

-Model is introduced
-Group cohesion is a product of the group environment, structure, and processes
-Use research based generalizations to explain why certain factors should be included for team building program

Interactive brainstorming session to generate as many specific strategies as possible

-Team building protocols are introduced and maintained by coaches
-Duration varies
-Some monitoring occurs to ensure they are being implemented