Group development and transformation take place based on multi-fractal
interaction; intentionality; and positive emotion, as follow (Akrivou, Boyatzis
& McLeod, 2006):
- Intentionality and shared ideals are the drivers of change and group transformation.
- Positive emotion becomes critical for intentional group development, alternating activation of positive and negative emotional attractors (PEA and NEA), with PEA being the emotional anchor and NEA seen as functional to change.
- Iterations must be grounded in positive emotion, enhancing the group’s conscious awareness, or mindfulness, the salience, as well as the coherence of its ideal.
To analyze the content of ICT in teams,
Olympic US Women’s Soccer team and United States’ men’s basketball will be used
as illustration.
The US women’s soccer team has been an international force since the FIFA
Women’s World Cup began in 1991 (The Washington Post, 2019). According to
Klenke (2011), contact sport is not, socially speaking, a women’s strength.
Women, to get to show their value in soccer and a to get chance to be in the
spotlight, needed to strongly fight for it. This is the first reason, I
believe, women soccer in the US succeeded in the past years. They had a
positive vision of their shared ideal self, as a group, which was a driver for
change and transformation. Their desire for equality in the field is a driver
to this day (Spiggle, 2020). However, the team was aware of the reality and the
challenges up ahead. They did not neglect the NEA. Negativity had its
functionality purpose on the team, pushing them to their ideal, which was still
grounded in the PEA. (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). Moran (2015) and
Burke (2019) highlight the team’s perseverance, resilience, tuned to
opportunity, humbleness, and hope as leadership lessons from US Women’s Soccer
team, which goes in liaise wit Akrivou, Boyatzis and McLeod (2006) components
of ICT in a team level.
Another point important to make is that transformation at the group level can
be catalyzed and facilitated by (1) formal or informal positive emotional
leadership in the group, and (2) interaction on other fractions of the complex
systems (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). This team has been influenced
by former players, active players, coaches, as stated by Lisi (2010), apart from
communities with the same beliefs and ideals, brands linked with the public
tendencies, media, government support, so forth. All these factors contributed
to the US Women’s soccer team performance along all these years, being
considered a quite young group (independent of individualities), comparing with
the US Men’s Basketball team.
The latter has created high hopes, due to its media attention and previous
performances. For the purpose of this paper, let me just consider the Olympics.
Until the year 2000, the US Men’s Basketball team has won 11 Olympics, out of
14 (USAB, 2016). Chang (2016) lists the US point differential to show the
team’s performance independent of winning. In 2000 the team won a gold medal,
but its differential was in decline. 2004 was the worst year for the team,
taking home a bronze medal (low profile for the “Dream Team”) and with the
worst point differential in history. Grounding the analysis in ICT, the main
reasons I believe the US Men’s Basketball Team did poorly in 2000 and 2004 were
(Maisonet, 2017):
- The disconnect/ dissonance between leaders and players and leaders with leaders.
- The lack of union (shared ideal self) of the entire team.
- The gap between the experiences between coaches and players.
- The large gap between reality (real self) and vision (ideal self).
- The lack of a learning agenda with time to experiment, as players were not used to playing together.
- The negative tone/ approach from leaders to get results by threatening “motivators”
Desired, sustainable change within the team occurs through the cyclical
iteration of the group (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). While the US
Women Soccer team intentionally self-developed, based on sustainability aiming
the long run and having a higher purpose than just scores, the Us Men’s
Basketball team was like boiling frogs, not seeing the warning signs,
comfortable in their past and their illusion of the future, maintaining its
status lacking awareness in the present. While all five components of ICT and
prescription of group development, listed by the authors, were present in the
former team, the same components were absent in the latter.
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 25(7), 689-706. doi: 10.1108/02621710610678490
Burke, K. (2019). 5 Lessons on leadership from the U.S. women's soccer team's second world
cup Win. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/katie-burke/5-lessons-on-leadership-from-us-womens-soccer-teams-second-world-cup-win.html
Chang, A. (2016). One simple reason the USA men's basketball team is struggling. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/rio-olympics-explainers/2016/8/19/12524532/team-usa-basketball-struggle
Klenke, K. (2011). Women
in leadership: Contextual dynamics and boundaries. Midlothian, VA: Emerald
Publishing
Lisi, C. (2010). The U.S. Women’s Soccer team
an American success story. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press.
Maisonet, E. (2017). The Miseducation of the 2004 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team. Retrieved from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2731575-the-miseducation-of-the-2004-us-mens-olympic-basketball-team
Moran, G. (2015). 6 leadership lessons from the U.S. women’s soccer team. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3048231/6-leadership-lessons-from-the-us-womens-soccer-team
Spiggle. T. (2020). U.S. women’s soccer suffers setback in fight for equal pay.
Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomspiggle/2020/05/12/us-womens-soccer-suffers-setback-in-fight-for-equal-pay/#25d4cdc06107
USAB (2016). Men's Olympic games all-time results & standings. Retrieved from https://www.usab.com/history/national-team-mens/mens-olympic-games-all-time-results-standings.aspx
The Washington Post.
(2019). The USWNT’s World Cup history: Eight tournaments, four titles.
Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/sports/soccer/usa-women-world-cup-history/
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