If you’ve spent any time betting on team sports, you know that success is about much more than the skills of the individual athletes. The squad needs to cohere; two good players who are in sync with each other often do better than two great players who are not. In fact, Many of the principles that apply to creating a powerful sports team can carry over to group and social settings in your own life.
The Principle of Reciprocal Determinism
The term “reciprocal determinism” was coined by social psychologist Albert Bandura in 1997, and refers to the idea that a person’s behaviour both influences and is influenced by their own characteristics and their social environment. When applied to sports psychology, this essentially means that a team’s mental space, confidence and cohesion are all inter-related.
The same could be said for workplaces, families or any other group of people. To positively influence the confidence, cohesion and mental space of any group or team, sports or otherwise, a solid foundation must be laid and then developed upon.
Laying the Foundation
Groups become teams because they share a purpose, and clearly defined goals. Good coaches know this, and set specific aims such as qualifying for or even winning a World Cup. If everyone is working towards the greater good, they’re more likely to support each other. This is known as task cohesion, and managers try to replicate the same thing in offices around the world.
Task cohesion helps foster the second important aspect of a good team foundation, which is social cohesion. Teammates, on the field or in the workplace, need to form social bonds in order to really support each other. Coaches promote this by encouraging group activities, and you probably know how important the friendships you make in your career are.
When you’re deciding which sports side to back, look at how much time they spend together when they aren’t training or playing. When you’re in your office or at a meeting, positively affirm your colleagues and see how much good this simple action does.
Developing the Team Framework
When a team is cohering nicely, other processes can be introduced to make the group more productive or successful. These processes include improving coordination and synchronisation between individuals so that they can communicate and operate better, and sharing resources to foster a sense of community. In sports, these resources might be a physiotherapist or a biokineticist. In an office or at home, it could be a communal photocopier or family computer.
Another key process is skill mastery. Don’t forget this when you’re placing your bets; the athletes on the teams do actually need to play well. Therefore a smart punter observe skill set before pacing bets Coaches should constantly be looking at ways to improve their sides’ abilities, so try to find out what kind of regime they have in place.
The advantage of continuous professional development in business should be obvious. In a domestic situation, the more proficient everyone is, the more chores are shared. As you probably already know, home life is definitely more peaceful when everyone has a turn to do the dishes!