Growing up, I was involved in every sport I could play from kindergarten until my junior year of high school. These sports included basketball, tennis, and softball. My true passion was playing softball which I did for fifteen years until being injured my senior year. Being a person with high social anxiety, playing sports allowed me to not only find my place on the field, but also a place among my peers. In those moments that my team and I were engaged in battle with our opponents, my social anxiety ceased to exist, and my only focus was on helping my team in any way possible.
The core meaning of a team is a group of people working towards a common goal (Nelson, 2018). Each member of the team carries a unique group role, and this role serves a specific purpose within a team. For me, these roles were very apparent when I played softball. Each member of my team played a specific position and had different responsibilities. For example, being the catcher, it was my responsibility to know the other team’s batting order, and signal in the appropriate pitching sequences to my pitcher. This task was different from that of our center fielder. She had the job to know when to shift the outfield for certain batters. Even the players on the bench had roles, while not actively being out on the field. They often lead silly cheers while we were on offense to boost morale of the team.
So, wait, how does teenagers playing softball relate to forming teams in the work place? These two topics have quite a bit in common. Teams found within the work place hold a common goal of having members work together to achieve a common goal. This goal could be in the form of meeting a certain quota for selling products, or it could be working together to form an important sales pitch to a buyer. Roles within work teams are also like roles found within a softball team. Employees that engage in doing actual tasks like creating a PowerPoint for the presentation or crafting the products that will be sold are fulfilling task roles within a group (Nelson, 2018). In my example, my teammate that played centerfielder was completing a task role by playing in the game. The member of my team that were not actively in the game, but rather cheered us on from the bench were executing relationship roles (Nelson, 2018). This can be done in the workplace when coworkers communicate with one another to improve or maintain connections with one another.
Playing sports taught me many lessons growing up that I use in everyday life. I learned that hard work and practice do pay off. I learned that when I feel like giving up, I need to push through it most times, because trying is better than quitting. It also taught me the value of each person within the team, and that communication is needed to achieve a team’s common goal. For having been a team player my entire life, I have been able to transfer what I learned about working together on the ball field into working together in the office.
Reference:
Nelson, A. (2018). Lesson 7 : Organizational Life and Teams. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1924488/modules/items/23682604
With the study of internal and social dynamics by social psychologist having used team sports as their basis for research, I can see how you would translate that into what you know and how you conduct yourself in working on teams in the working environment. The most significant topics studied in team sports are cohesion, communication patterns, team confidence, and group goal settings correlating directly to team performance resulting in satisfaction and morale outcomes to name a few, (Schneider, Gruman, & Couts, 2012, p.115). There is also a need to consider the individual’s in the team and their level of self-efficacy, which contributes to the collective efficacy of the team, (Schneider, et.al., 2012, p.122). Given this, it’s easy to see how these items translate to a work team environment. When a work team has positive cohesion, confidence, and group goals along with the communication you described, they also have a high probability of success. I do think those who have had a positive experience at a young age with team sports, would make a great contribution to a work team.
Reference:
Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Couts, L. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousands Islands, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Being an athlete my entire life, I agree with this post one hundred percent. I also play softball, and have played since I was five years old. I now am on the Penn State Abington softball team playing my last eligible year. I agree with you that playing sports has helped me out in life more than people might think. Playing sports helped me become the person I am today. It teaches you many things like team work, dedication skills, time management, and how to be respectful to the people on your team. All of these things give you the ability to succeed in a work place. I will always recommend sports to any young child, or parent of a young child. Not only because it give you something to do to keep you busy, but because it helps you gain skills that you need to be a successful person.