A Variety of Team Dynamics

When I was a football coach, or soccer coach, I loved to teach my players that were ages 8-12. In those years, most players truly fully transition from learning a task of how to kick a ball to seeing the full pitch and how the task applies to the match.

I recall one time that I was coaching an age 10 team in India, they had learned the different positions and responsibilities on the pitch, I gave them the opportunity to make their own formations and assigned positions for end-of-session scrimmages. This allowed the players to experiment with different formations (a 4-4-2 formation versus a 4-3-3 formation and so on) (if this doesn't mean anything to you, hakuna matata) the point was to try different positions, and increase overall understanding of the game. I would give the players a few minutes to come up with their positions and formations as a team and then we would begin to play.

I gave this challenge to one of my teams and at the end of three minutes I saw a goalie in the box and ten strikers. All of the players wanted to score goals in this single position. Nobody wanted to play any other position. I smiled and asked the team about the opportunities they could create with their use of space. “MissAmberMam, we all want to score goals. Plus, he’s a good goalie.” Fair enough. I let them play for a few minutes in deep frustration as they ran into each other and were ill positioned against the opposing team. I then paused the scrimmage and asked the question again, they could continue playing or make an adjustment, this was their opportunity. The players looked around the pitch in bewilderment. They wanted to be strikers but they couldn’t all play the same position and play most effectively. They needed different roles. 

One player went to defender, another went to midfield, and slowly the players went to various parts of the pitch. When the movement seemed to stop I asked the same question about different options created by the use of space and the players had many answers. This was a perfect illustration for the players to see the value of each position and the importance of staying in an agreed-upon formation. The players pointed out a few different advantages:

First, with people in different positions, there were different viewpoints. People were able to see the pitch from various angles and communicate with their team to have a better holistic understanding about what was going on in the match so that they could work together more efficiently. Players being spread out across the pitch did mean different angles and viewpoints, but it also meant that teammates had to be intentional about raising their heads and looking up to see those that were open. It means being intentional about listening to those that were in different positions that had various valuable viewpoints.

I was working in a leadership team that was coming up with some ideas for a large healthcare company. The leadership team was filled with doctors, management, and other leadership positions. We came up with great ideas on how to improve our processes and our way of work, but there was one problem -- we didn't have any insight from people that were going to be implementing the process changes, input from nurses, nurse techs, patient companions, clinical secretaries etc. They had a different viewpoint of how the processes would affect the patient care, how they would be implemented, and other insights for what could be improved and what obstacles could be faced with the proposed changes. Different positions provided different viewpoints.

Second. people in different positions were able to move more quickly and be more agile. If everyone was in the same position, they were cramped and on top of each other. When they had people in different positions, they were able to spread out and move the ball more quickly and more efficiently.

I was with a team overseas filled with people from different professions and backgrounds and insights and strengths, it was because of this breadth of talent that we were able to face challenges with confidence and quickness. We had a team member loose a bag and in a moment one used his networking skills to make calls and talk with the locals to get the bag and keep it safe, another used his analytical skills to think through the logistics of getting the bag back, another provided emotional support to the team member that lost her bag, another worked on replenishing essentials from the bag until the original bag was returned. The variety of skill sets and know-hows allowed the team to work together quickly and move rapidly to overcome our challenges. I can only imagine how differently this would have gone if everyone had strengths in only one of these areas. People in different positions can be more agile and move more quickly.

Also, people in different positions offered a greater depth of options and opportunities. I asked the players what opportunities they had for ball movement with everyone in the same position and they scratched their heads for a moment. However, when they were spread out they had limitless options and opportunities to move and grow and progress.

I was working with a team that had almost all strengths in relationship building. This was really awesome because everyone was super friendly and kind and made a true family like atmosphere....but the downside was that there were hardly any people on the team that were strategic thinking, influencing, or executing. At the end of the day, this severely hindered the teams ability to perform at its' highest level. We were intentional to recruit a more well rounded team and brought more insights and allowed us to have more opportunities and growth as a team.

So, when organizing your team, here's what I want you to do. Look for people that have different positions. Position of strengths, insights, background, and viewpoints. This will allow your team to provide different viewpoints, be more agile, and to expand your opportunities and growth as a team.