Understanding the Depth Beyond the Surface in Team Environments

In high-performance teams, whether in sports or business, the dynamics of inclusion, role assignment, and recognition play a critical role in shaping individual and collective success. Just as a football player may experience a range of emotions and motivational shifts when left on the bench, individuals within a business environment encounter similar challenges when they feel sidelined or underutilised.

The importance of understanding individuals beyond their outward contributions cannot be overstated. It involves recognising the complex interplay of their motivations, fears, and instincts, which all influence how they perceive their roles and contributions to the team's objectives.

To outline my thoughts, let's examine the reactions of three hypothetical players to being dropped from the team, or benched, to gain insights into the importance of addressing not just the technical, but also the emotional and motivational needs of individual team members.

A Closer Look at Individual Dynamics

Player 1 - Self-Driven Improver?

• Primary Reaction: Sees being benched as an opportunity for self-improvement, focusing on personal weaknesses or fitness to meet the coach's standards.
• Secondary Reaction: Aims to maintain a positive team perception as a role model, becoming more vocal in team discussions or helping teammates improve.
• Repressed Reaction: What we may not be able to see is the struggle with feelings of rejection or invisibility, emotions that tend to be kept private, focusing instead on tangible actions to prove value.

Player 2 - The Team Player?

• Primary Reaction: Increases involvement in team dynamics and morale, offering support to fellow teammates to mask personal disappointment.
• Secondary Reaction: Focuses on personal care and wellness, ensuring readiness to contribute when needed, viewing this as a form of team support.
• Repressed Reaction: What we may not be able to see is the struggle with feeling undervalued personally, and the suppression of these feelings to avoid appearing selfish, prioritising team harmony over personal grievances.

Player 3 - The Ambitious Competitor

• Primary Reaction: Doubles down on efforts to be seen as successful, through extra training or highlighting achievements, aiming to regain a central role.
• Secondary Reaction: Evaluates career trajectory and potential improvements to secure a more prominent position, viewing the benching as a temporary setback.
• Repressed Reaction: What we may not be able to see is the struggle with a hit to personal pride, and the resistance to showing vulnerability, focusing on strategic moves to reclaim status.

You may see elements of yourself in these descriptions, but regardless, the opportunity to get more visibility and understanding of ourselves and others is available.

Watching Wayne Rooney talk about management and treating people differently this week, inspires consideration of the challenges we face when accepting what a person says and how they appear at face value in a team, their words and expressions.

Without probing further into the underlying motivations, emotions, or context behind their statements, we might believe we are supporting them, with good intention, but often quick conclusions and decisions risks oversimplification and misunderstanding. It's a path to misdirection by design, and for leaders, its terminal.

Striving to understand team members on a deeper level will go beyond surface-level interpretations. It happen by design, through assessment, active listening, asking open-ended questions, and considering the individual's past experiences, personal values, and potential unspoken concerns.

A Parallel in Business

It can be difficult to map these ideas to non-sporting scenarios, so to help, consider a business scenario where a project team is working on a high-stakes assignment.

Of course, in this environment, there's no bench in the literal sense, but situations arise that echo the sentiment of being dropped. I encountered frequently how individuals feel their ideas are consistently overlooked, feeling misunderstood through the assignment of less meaningful tasks, or sensing a lack of engagement from leadership regarding their opportunity for progression.

These scenarios can significantly impact an individual's motivation, engagement, and ultimately, their performance and loyalty to the company. That costs.

Integrating Insights into Team Management

Context matters and these examples underscore some of the many and varied ways individuals may respond to the same situation, influenced by their core motivations and instincts.

We know the path to personal and professional development is unique for each team member, and by recognising these differences, we can adopt a more tailored approach to team management.

This idea, that addresses the unique needs and aspirations of each member, minimises the problems that arise when we avoid going deeper. Humans are complex, which magnifies in teams, but gaining these insights is simple, and there is a competitive advantage to be gained in doing so.?

Embracing Complexity for Team Success

The examples of the three players highlight the complexity of individual reactions to being sidelined and the importance of a nuanced approach to team management. For leaders to be able to navigate with a sense of control, understanding and addressing the emotional, motivational, and instinctual aspects of team dynamics is essential.

In many ways, this is the last bastion of team evolution and avoidance provides a great example of how motivations and instincts are playing out for those charged with the optimisation of performance.

To foster an environment of growth, resilience, and inclusivity; one that enhances individual satisfaction and performance but also strengthens the cohesion and collective capability of the team, is more accessible than ever. ?