A641.5.3.RB - ICT at the Team Level

A641.5.3.RB - ICT at the Team Level

Read the article: “The evolving group: towards a prescriptive theory of intentional group development” by Kleio Akrivou, Richard Boyatzis and PoppyMcLeod.

Using the concepts within ICT focused on the team level, reflect on why the Olympic US Women’s Soccer team won so often and the US Dream Team basketball men’s team did so poorly in 2000 and 2004?

I don’t know much about women’s soccer or the NBA much less the US Dream Team men’s basketball teams in 2000 & 2004. However, from what I’ve read about these teams is that both the women’s soccer teams and the men’s basketball teams either failed or succeeded because of the leadership they had. The differences had to do with coaching styles, teamwork, and the expectations from each coach.

My 15 year-old niece plays soccer for a local team near Milwaukee, WI. We’ve gone to see her play a couple times and that team is incredible. These young women really communicate well and trust each other. You can see that they have learned the basics together and are now coming into their own trying some trick shots here and there. They just all work so hard. Their coach is a former professional player and he talks to them and guides them throughout the game whereas other coaches we’ve seen yell at their teams. There is a respect there and it shows. [T]he initial phase is an authority one, with key issue the issue of individual independence, while the second phase is an interpersonal one, with the key theme the issue of interdependence. The group can resolve its internal conflicts and perform only if the individual can resolve its internal conflicts in regards to his/her boundaries in the group. (Akrivou, et al., 2006) My sister-in-law films all of the games and has told me that compared to other teams, “her” girls always get up from a hit or trip; they usually get right up. They play with integrity as much as they can. The support and coaching these girls get is top-notch and will eventually help some of the players earn college scholarships.

From what I read about the women’s soccer team, they didn’t even have a real team before about twenty years ago. They had to figure out where to pull the talent from because the college teams weren’t fully matured. In many ways, the creation and growth of women’s soccer in the US was a process of assembling the components. College soccer, the youth programs, amateur clubs, the national team, tournament success, the US Open Cup, farm clubs and finally a professional league. (Litterer, 2011) The women had an uphill battle in the historically patriarchal sports field, as well as in establishing themselves as formidable opponents on an international level. There was a notable ebb and resurgence of activity at the national level in these days; [much] work was limited to training and conditioning. (Litterer, 2011) The women shared a vision of what they wanted the Women’s soccer league to be. The equivalent of the ideal self at a group level is an image of the ideal or a shared vision[.] (Akrivou, et al., 2006)

After researching the 2000 and 2004 USA Men’s basketball teams, I ran into a lot of blogs that chided them for being poorly coached and ill-prepared. After the 1992 true US Dream Team, subsequent teams started falling short to the point of utter embarrassment. Part of this was due to many of the great players retiring and the new up-and-comers not yet reached a maturity level of play.  There were also interpersonal clashes and poorly placed players. U.S. Basketball decided to go with a younger team but picked an unbalanced roster that lacked shooters on the wings and a true lead guard. It didn’t help that this young group was being led by Larry Brown, who was notoriously tough on his younger players. He clashed with several members of the team, including the point guard (in name only) Stephon Marbury. (Ruiz, 2016)

The take-away from studying both of these team’s stories is that when a team works together and is able to solve problems internally, they can sustain a winning team. We believe that a group’s shared vision of what they want to be and do is the driver of the intentional change. (Akrivou, et al., 2006) When a team is poorly assembled, emotionally immature, and lacking of a shared vision or dream, maintaining the winning edge and cohesion of a winning team is difficult.  

References:

Akrivou, K., Boyatzis, R.E., & McLeod, P.L.(2006) "The evolving group: towards a prescriptive theory of intentional group development", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 25 Iss: 7, pp.689 - 706

Litterer, D. (2011, August 17).Women's Soccer History in the USA: An Overview. http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/womensoverview.html

Ruiz, S. (2016, June 28). A definitive ranking of every USA men's Olympic basketball team since the Dream Team. For the Win. USA Today. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/06/2016-olympics-basketball-united-states-dream-team-rankings