3 United we stand – harnessing the power of collaboration

Figure 5 A rugby scrum

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A rugby scrum in a men’s game.

Figure 5 A rugby scrum

Collaboration, or teamwork, in sports is a fundamental aspect that plays a crucial role in the success of any team. It refers to the collaborative efforts and coordination between individual team members towards achieving a common goal. Extensive research consistently demonstrates a strong positive correlation between team cohesion and performance outcomes (Forrester, 2019), and this can relate to both sport and business. Collaboration plays a similarly important role in coaching by guiding and developing athletes to improve their skills, tactics, and overall performance. Effective teamwork among coaches, athletes, and support staff is essential for creating a cohesive and productive environment.

Activity 3 Your favourite team

Timing: Allow approximately 15 minutes

Watch this video which explores the power of teamwork, not only in a sporting setting but within wider groups. As you listen, think about a particularly strong team that resonates with you. This might be your favourite professional sports team or even a team you are involved in yourself. Ask yourself the following questions and record your answers in the text box below:

• What makes this team so special?
• In what ways do they display their cohesiveness?
• How does their strong collaboration impact their success?

Download this video clip.Video player: Video: The Power of Teamwork

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Transcript: Video: The Power of Teamwork

SPORTS COMMENTATOR

The orders are a perfect 4 and 0.

[CHANTING]

We’ve got one more item for you when you get a chance, we’d like it there-- stir up your cryo tanks.

TYLER WAYE

How good can a team be? Seriously, how powerful is teamwork? Great teamwork. I mean, really ask that question. Who defines the limit? And what if we were to push that edge? Stop to think about this for a moment, and realise that every team that accomplished the untouchable, every team that got out there, every team that had done what had never been done before, they all had to break through. They all had to understand that there was this edge. And then they had to challenge the edge. And then they had to break through that invisible line. They all had to do it.

STEVE JOBS

Through that group of incredibly talented people bumping up against each other, having arguments having fights sometimes, making some noise, and working together. They polish each other. And they polish the ideas. And what comes out are these really beautiful stones.

TYLER WAYE

There’s no other way to get through other than challenging your fears. Because in order for teamwork to be at its highest potential, everyone’s got to have something on the line. You have to. Otherwise, you’re only partway in. At the end of the day, you’re going to need to trust those around you. To fully trust, this is about us. And you can count on me. I think about New Zealand, this country with under five million people. And they have the best rugby team in the world – the All Blacks, consistently the best in the world.

[CHANTING IN NON-ENGLISH]

TYLER WAYE

Or the Apollo mission, a group of people saying we hear you we’ve got you. And all of our talents are on the line to get you home. That’s teamwork. Think about the Beatles, all of that music that we know of theirs, all of it was made in about eight years-- just eight years. They were that incredible as a team. Great teams, I mean, they’re not about individuals melting into the team. That’s the mistake. People hear about the power of teamwork. And they think-- they think it’s about losing yourself to the singular goal. They think it’s about fully giving in to something bigger than you. You don’t lose yourself. Great teammates, they don’t lose themselves. They stand up. They say I’m here. They choose to be in. And they choose to play their unique part. That’s how it works. So then what’s the breakthrough? What did those teams see to unlock the full power of teamwork? That’s the hard part. You can’t see the edge. You actually don’t know where it is until you cross over and look back and see where it was. That’s why it’s always easier. It’s always easier to catch up than it is to raise the bar. Because the team that broke through, they marked the line. And now everyone else, they just need to get over that mark.

The Patriots, Belichick, Brady, I mean, what they’ve been doing is so unbelievable because they keep raising the bar. They keep nudging it higher. So even if people catch up. It’s too late. You know, Steve Jobs and Apple--

STEVE JOBS

For the first time ever, I’d like to let Macintosh speak for itself.

TYLER WAYE

They were operating in this abyss. I mean, they were out there in this vast unknown. So instead of breaking through, instead of seeing the line, you have to forget the line. It’s just another limit. The marker in great teams is never external because you’re out in this unknown. You’re out in this unmapped territory. So instead, the power of teamwork comes from a belief. It comes from a mindset. We can’t get satisfied by the breakthroughs.

We can celebrate them. We should celebrate them. But we can’t be satisfied by the limits. That’s what humbles me the most about great teams. That’s what humbles me the most about the power of teamwork because it’s almost like you've got to operate in the darkness, knowing you’re lighting the path for everyone else and still heading out there, still pushing that edge. That’s how to unlock the power of teamwork.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR

See the copy at the point. And on the board, they fly!

There’s the presentation to Wayne Gretzky, the young Edmonton captain!

End transcript: Video: The Power of Teamwork

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Video: The Power of Teamwork

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Discussion

Here you might have considered a number of factors:

• Shared goals – driven by a common purpose and shared goals. Each team member understands their role and how it contributes to the overall objective.
• Synergy – team members can combine their individual skills, knowledge, and experience, resulting in synergy. When team members pool their strengths effectively, they can accomplish more than they would individually.
• Effective communication – clear and open communication facilitates the sharing of ideas, strategies, and feedback.
• Trust and respect – collaborative teams foster an environment of trust and respect. Team members trust and rely on one another’s abilities, judgements, and contributions.
• Supportive environment – individuals can provide constructive feedback, help overcome setbacks, and celebrate successes together. This supportive atmosphere enhances team cohesion and boosts morale.

Teamwork is widely recognised as one of the most important employability skills across various industries and professions (Tsitskaria et al., 2017). It enhances collaboration, problem-solving, communication, adaptability, trust, and productivity. Employers value individuals who can effectively work in teams, contributing to the overall success of the organisation. By playing a role within a sports team, you will be developing these skills each time you train and compete.