Understanding the Dynamics of Teamplay in Group Projects

We All Make It Or Nobody…

While you may wish that your final grade be a reflection of your understanding and productivity solely, fact of the matter is that your work will only represent on average, half of your final grade. Your final grade, the one on which your job opportunities will rely on (admittedly unfairly) will be equally determined by how well you interact, manage and work in a group setting. Ah yes, the group setting.

Team Sports Versus Individual Sports

Whether you prefer team sports such as basketball or individual competition like track and field, you want to win. For better or worse, in team sports, you can be the best darn player on a field and walk away a loser. Conversely, you can be a role player that gets no recognition yet walk away a winner.

We Win Together, We Lose Together

Imagine being in Roger Clemens' shoes as a member of the Boston Red Sox 1986 team that was an out away from winning the World Series Championship and breaking the Curse of the Bambino. How would you feel to see a ball slipping through Bill Buckner's feet alter the course of history and hand the championship to a New York City franchise? Well, you should realize that you only really got there thanks to the team and that you learn through failure. Ironically, Clemens won a couple of World Series with that other baseball team from the Big Apple.

Give and Take

Wayne Gretzky retired as the greatest hockey player of all time. His 4 Stanley Cups were surpassed by many other players but his 61 National Hockey League (NHL) records were second to none. Gretzky was never the fastest or biggest player on the ice, he was the best for two reasons: First, he anticipated the play better than anyone else. He always said that he knew where the puck was going and that is what explained his success. Second, Gretzky set scoring records but it was his ability to make his teammates into better players that was his trademark. He often earned more assists than others notched total points. He drew defenders and opened up the ice for linemates. This was what elevated his career to the next level. This is also why sponsors rushed to associate themselves with #99 – his Presence drew the crowd – both on the ice and in the corporate landscape.

If you wish to be the greatest, learn from Gretzky and understand that it is how you make others look around you that matters most. In other words, you have to pass the puck if you want others to pass it to you.

Some athletes opt for individual sports where they control all the variables. Sprinters are the quintessential examples. They block everything out and win and lose on their own merit. The weather and track may have something to do with their performance, but if they win, it is because they are the best. But even sprinters need to give and take, be it with coaches or with trainers.

The problem is that this is an all or nothing course of action. An injury to the sprinter means the end. In team sports, any one player can go down – even Wayne Gretzky – and the team still has a shot at victory.