Part 2: Team Cohesion

• Definition of Cohesion

  • A dynamic process which reflects the tendency for a group to stick together & remain united in pursuit of its instrumental objectives &/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs
  • Constantly changing in response to group goals, individual & group conflicts & resolution of those conflicts 
  • Team unity, team spirit, teamwork
  • Words for cohesion often referred to 
  • Cohesiveness → Team Success 
  • Having cohesion directly related to team success

  
• Definition of Cohesion

  • To ensure team success & reducing faulty processes 
  • To make team coordinating well together
  • Need common objective, that they have agreed upon
  • People feel good about being in team
  • Good relationships + look out for each other 
  • Team cohesion constantly changing, to changing goals within the team
  • Whether individual or group conflict - new members, or someone injured (whether they can be resolved with influence cohesion)

  
• Definition of Cohesion

  • A dynamic process which reflects the tendency for a group to stick together & remain united in pursuit of its instrumental objectives &/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs

  
• Definition of Cohesion

  • Cohesiveness → Team Success 
  • Having cohesion directly related to team success 

  
• What makes your/a team Cohesive?

  • Share common goal - what they want to achieve from the team
  • Being mates with them 
  • Connects trust quickly
  • Bit of enjoyment, humour (group norms)
  • Respect for each others, skills you bring in to team or when someone is having an off day 
  • Longer time been together - more cohesive gonna be (stable team)
  • Provides opportunity to create that cohesion
• Dimensions of Cohesion 

  • Social Cohesion (interpersonal attraction)
  • Degree to which team members like each other & enjoy each others company
  • Team spirit - positivity team creates
  • Task Cohesion 
  • Degree to which team members work together to achieve a specific & identifiable task
  • Teamwork 
• Dimensions of Cohesion 

  • Social Cohesion (interpersonal attraction)
  • Degree to which team members like each other & enjoy each others company
  • Team spirit - positivity team creates
  • Attraction you have w/ the people you are participating with 
  • Enjoy training as with good teammates 
• Dimensions of Cohesion 

  • Task Cohesion 
  • Degree to which team members work together to achieve a specific & identifiable task
  • Teamwork 
  • To achieve specific group goal 
  • The work team is doing together for a particular goal 
  • Get all players to feed into and agree on team goal 
  • If got some unsure about achieving goal - then team cohesion will reduce (not all buying into it)
  • As long as team goals can still perform well (even without good social cohesion)
  • Task cohesion more important for overall performance
• Dimensions of Cohesion 

  • Example: We had to create a team & that’s a bit of a different challenge from going out & finding some stars… What we have is a commodity of teamliness & sticking together & work ethic & all these sorts of things which I’ve sort of defined as ‘mettle’. And when we click… we can play & beat anybody
  • Teamiliness, teamwork, working for same goal 
• Cohesion & Performance Relationship 

  • Cohesiveness → Team Performance
  • In general, there is a positive relationship bw/ Social & Task cohesion & performance 
  • Relationship may be stronger for Task than Social cohesion
  • Cohesion-performance relationship is greater in female sports 
  • Cohesiveness ← Team Performance 
  • Performance is also related to cohesion

  
• Cohesion & Performance Relationship 

  • Cohesiveness → Team Performance
  • Cohesiveness ← Team Performance 
  • 2 way relationship 
  • What comes first?
  • Need cohesive team to start with for team performance to be impacted, the individual performances monitored (accountable), then cohesiveness will grow even further 

  
• Cohesion & Performance Relationship 

  • Cohesiveness → Team Performance
  • In general, there is a positive relationship bw/ Social & Task cohesion & performance 
  • Relationship may be stronger for Task than Social cohesion
  • Affect on performance greater when having common goal, rather than a team that likes each other 
  • As long as common goal to focus on
  • If can create cohesive team will have positive outcome for team performance

  
• Cohesion & Performance Relationship 

  • Cohesiveness → Team Performance
  • In general, there is a positive relationship bw/ Social & Task cohesion & performance 
  • Cohesion-performance relationship is greater in female sports 
  • Guys can still perform well even if are less cohesive 
  • Not sure why?
  • Perhaps can perform well even when don't like each other

  
• Cohesion & Performance Relationship 

  • Cohesiveness ← Team Performance 
  • Performance is also related to cohesion 
  • Team performance also build cohesiveness
  • More team is performing well, more cohesive team will become 
  • Cracks when, not performing well 
  • Start to blame
  • Change communication patterns

  
• Video: Team Cohesion in Sport - Example of Good & Bad Team Cohesion

  • Greater cohesion, greater performance 
  • Some words shown in video 
  • Illustrates different types of teams, task cohesion but also social cohesion (for overall good cohesion)
• Task Structure/Type of Teams 

  • Independence 
  • Coordinated action bw/ individuals not required
  • eg golfing 
  • Coactive Dependence
  • Members perform similar tasks simultaneously for success
  • eg rowing, synchronised diving 
  • Reactive & Proactive Dependence 
  • 1 member initiates action; another completes it 
  • eg netball, cricket
  • Interactive Dependence
  • Members mutually dependent on each other for success 
  • eg hockey, waterpolo

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams 

  • Reason: not 100% cohesion as is based on type of team involved as some teams might not need that level of cohesion for performance - so look at types of teams
  • Depending on type of team with influence cohesion-performance relationship

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams 

  • Independence 
  • Coordinated action bw/ individuals not required
  • eg golfing 
  • Good cohesion doesn't influence performance
  • Don't need coordination development
  • Won't be faulty processed due to less cohesion

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams

  • Coactive Dependence
  • Members perform similar tasks simultaneously for success
  • eg rowing, synchronised diving 
  • Members of team performing similar task simultaneously 
  • Perform well at same time 
  • More interaction, as need to coordinate together, but my performance isn't dependent on other

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams 

  • Reactive & Proactive Dependence 
  • 1 member initiates action; another completes it 
  • eg netball, cricket 
  • One throws, another catches

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams 

  • Interactive Dependence
  • Members mutually dependent on each other for success 
  • eg hockey, waterpolo
  • Got to do things independently, & coordinate with team mates

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams 

  • Independence (no coordinated action bw/ individuals)
  • Coactive Dependence (similar tasks performed simultaneously)
  • Reactive & proactive dependence (1 initiates the other completes)
  • Leads to:
  • Similar cohesion → performance relationships
  • Social cohesion & performance unrelated 
  • These forms of teams not important that they like each other, as not needed to perform well or perform well as a team
  • Not so obvious why team cohesion is important (check)

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams 

  • Independence (no coordinated action bw/ individuals)
  • Coactive Dependence (similar tasks performed simultaneously)
  • Reactive & proactive dependence (1 initiates the other completes)
  • Leads to:
  • Similar cohesion → performance relationships
  • Social cohesion & performance unrelated 
  • These forms of teams not important that they like each other, as not needed to perform well or perform well as a team
  • Not so obvious why team cohesion is important (check)

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams 

  • Interactive Dependence (mutual dependence within teammates)
  • Leads to:
  • Level of cohesion greatest
  • Social & Task cohesion + vely related to performance
  • eg netball, hockey 
  • Social cohesion more important 
  • Coordination important

  
• Task Structure/Type of Teams

  • Interactive Dependence (mutual dependence within teammates)
  • Lead to:
  • Level of cohesion greatest
  • Social & Task cohesion + vely related to performance
  • Social cohesion more important
  • Have team building activities 
  • Less emphasis on top, as not viewed as important (not same level of interaction)
  • Task more important in one while social more important in another - where task more important need to agree on goal & work together (even if don't like each other)

  
• Developing Task Cohesion - Teamwork 

  • Good communication 
  • Everyone should feel comfortable to express thoughts & feelings
  • Team Goal Setting
  • Team members “buy into” the goal 
  • Team evaluation of goal achievement  
  • Role Clarity & Acceptance
  • Ensure importance of role is clear 
  • (I want Tom in my team because…)
  • Creation of group norms (what does an ‘ideal’ teammate look like/behave?)
  • Positive reinforcement 
  • Give 100% effort all the time

  
• Developing Task Cohesion - Teamwork 

  • Decrease amount of faulty processes due to poor coordination 
  • Actual productivity should match our potential productivity through building task cohesion

  
• Developing Task Cohesion - Teamwork 

  • Good communication 
  • Everyone should feel comfortable to express thoughts & feelings
  • About team & individual performance 
  • Also about how they are doing personally 
  • Comfortable to express both positive & negative things 
  • Norms & values how communicate as team

  
• Developing Task Cohesion - Teamwork 

  • Team Goal Setting
  • Team members “buy into” the goal 
  • Team evaluation of goal achievement  
  • Needs to be team goal, that team goal has a role in choosing
  • Need team input to create goal
  • Team processes what lead to team achievement 

  
• Developing Task Cohesion - Teamwork 

  • Role Clarity & Acceptance
  • Ensure importance of role is clear 
  • (I want Tom in my team because…)
  • Clear on what there goal is, and their role in achieving the goal 
  • eg write why everyone is important in the team, team member given anonymous feedback (positive, & motivational)
  • To know why are valuable in team 
  • Build confidence & motivation

  
• Developing Task Cohesion - Teamwork 

  • Creation of group norms (what does an ‘ideal’ teammate look like/behave?)
  • Positive reinforcement 
  • Give 100% effort all the time
  • To decrease motivational losses (check)
  • What behaviours are acceptable
  • How did give positive reinforcement 
  • & how phrase critical feedback 
  • Think intrinsically - to be intrinsically motivated 
  • Creating a team that is intrinsically motivated, will help optimal motivation

  
• Developing Social Cohesion - Teamspirit

  • Group Identity/Distinctiveness
  • Look like a team
  • Get to know each other 
  • Avoid cliques
• Developing Social Cohesion - Teamspirit

  • Group Identity/Distinctiveness
  • Look like a team
  • What makes this team unique 
  • What they wear 
  • Talk about each other as a team
• Developing Social Cohesion - Teamspirit

  • Get to know each other 
  • Avoid cliques 
  • Players that hang out together (& ignore others)
  • Both for social & task cohesion 
  • Outside of a team situation 
  • More social opportunities outside of sport environment
• Developing Task Cohesion = Teamwork
• Developing Task Cohesion = Teamwork
• Developing Social Cohesion = Teamspirit
• Developing Social Cohesion = Teamspirit