At Inside Edge Sport Psychology Consultancy, we often hear coaches ask about team cohesion. It’s a vital concept in sport, assumed to promote successful team performance1. But what exactly is it, and how can you, as a coach, truly build it within your team?
Understanding Team Cohesion
Team cohesion is a dynamic process where a group tends to stick together and remain united in pursuit of its goals and objectives. It has two main dimensions:
Task Cohesion: This refers to the instrumental role group activities play in achieving a goal, essentially how united the team is in working towards its objectives.
Social Cohesion: This reflects the social desirability of remaining in the group, focusing on interpersonal relationships and friendships among members.
Both task and social cohesion are important for athletes, influencing motivation and engagement.
The Relationship Between Cohesion and Performance
For a long time, it was believed that high cohesion automatically led to better performance. However, research suggests the strongest causal relationship actually goes from performance to cohesion. Winning teams tend to have higher levels of cohesion than losing teams.
While performance has a greater impact on cohesion, there is still a small but significant effect of cohesion on performance. This is particularly relevant when teams are of equal ability, where factors like high cohesion might just tip the balance towards victory.
Beyond Cohesion: Embracing Teamwork
Historically, team building interventions in sport have primarily focused on developing group cohesion. While effective in improving team effectiveness, it’s crucial to understand that teamwork involves more than just building cohesion.
Teamwork is a dynamic process where team members collaborate to effectively carry out interdependent behaviours needed to achieve team goals. It includes:
• Management of Team Maintenance: Behaviours that keep the team together, such as providing psychological support and conflict management.
• Regulation of Team Performance: Behaviours directed at achieving instrumental objectives, including preparation (mission analysis, goal setting, planning), execution (coordination, cooperation, communication), evaluation (performance monitoring), and adjustment (problem-solving, backing-up, intra-team coaching, innovation).
Practical Implications for Coaches
Here’s how you can apply these insights to build a highly effective team:
• Foster Both Task and Social Cohesion: Encourage unity around both team goals and interpersonal relationships. Athletes who perceive higher levels of both task and social cohesion report greater personal and social skills, initiative, and goal setting.
• Emphasise a Task-Oriented Environment: Focus on elements like attractions to the task to promote positive motivation and participation. Promoting effort, cooperation, and teamwork through a task-related peer motivational climate can enhance task cohesion. Conversely, an ego-related climate (promoting social comparison and outcome-first attitudes) can negatively impact task cohesion.
• Improve Communication: Crucial for team functioning, especially in multicultural teams. Encourage clear communication about roles and responsibilities during competition and practice. Setting clear goals and norms for work ethic and ensuring a common, understood language is used can significantly help.
• Understand Cultural Diversity: Professional teams are increasingly diverse. Recognise that players’ perceptions of cultural diversity can form around nationality-based subgroups and stereotypes. Promote cultural awareness and encourage players to understand and adapt to cultural differences, prioritising a unified team culture.
By focusing on these areas, coaches can cultivate a supportive and effective team environment, maximising both individual athlete development and overall team success.
