Managing the Teams Hidden Inside Your Team
At the most fundamental level, a team will form when a task cannot be completed or a goal cannot be achieved by a single person. When a goal or task is apparent and the individuals’ roles in accomplishing it are well understood then the concept of the team will be clear to all the members. We often think of the team as only something that the coach creates and fosters. But within the team you create on purpose, are often many teams that form themselves.
Planned Teams. The challenge you have as a coach is that your program is made up of many different tasks and goals and sometimes they are not well defined. Take, for example, assigning five players to be team captains for the upcoming season. This alone will not turn these athletes into a team; they are just a group of athletes that have been designated team captain. If you fail to give them a clear set of collaborative responsibilities and objectives then this group may never form as a team.
Spontaneous Teams. To add another layer of complexity, teams often form spontaneously based on a shared goal that arises from a particular situation. For instance, six individuals riding in an elevator are a group, but would not be considered a team. If, however, the elevator breaks down and circumstances require the riders to work together in order to escape, this shared goal would transform the group into a team. Similarly, there will be circumstances that occur throughout a season that will bring together individuals from your staff that typically do not work together. The situation will give them a shared goal, requiring they work as a unit to achieve the goal — they are now a team within your team. So, understanding your team becomes fairly complicated because your team is made up of many different teams that form in many different ways depending on the task or the goal within a given context.
Why is this important to know?
When we as leaders fail to recognize and understand the various teams within our team we will not be able to fully harness the power that exists within each team.
When you clearly identify the unique nature of each team you can be more effective at influencing the members of these different teams. Planned teams require your structure, guidance, and reinforcement to work well together and stay on track. Spontaneous teams arise from your players identifying a need or desire, and taking initiative. That initiative should be acknowledged and appreciated, but should also be aligned with the planned team goals. Knowing this will help you to tailor your communication in a way that shows you understand and appreciate how the members identify with one another in relation to factors that make them a team. You can also create conditions that foster teamwork*, aligning the spontaneous team’s goals with the planned team, formalizing roles, or integrating sub-team goals with the planned goals. In many ways, you are already doing this through the established routines and processes within your program. Setting the proper conditions and providing clear guidance will help to align each team’s identity and purpose to the overall goals you are wanting to achieve within your program.
In summary, when you take the time to fully appreciate that there are many teams within your team and understand why they exist, you can leverage this knowledge to ensure the collective effort of all members are optimally working towards the same TEAM goals.
* If you are interested in learning more about how to set the conditions for building a team check out the classic study called the Robber's Cave experiment.
