Intentional Change Theory at the Team Level

February 12, 2017

Using the concepts within ICT focused on the team level, reflect on why the Olympic US Women’s Soccer team won so often and the US Dream Team basketball men’s team did so poorly in 2000 and 2004?  (Note:  Basketball team won gold medal in 2000 Olympics)

Per ICT for groups, it is important to set clear goals at the beginning of putting the team together.  The US women’s soccer team progressed in its development as a team because they had the clear vision and goal of being the best in the world.  “We believe that a group’s shared vision of what they want to be and do as a group is the driver of intentional change”

(Kleio Akrivou, Richard. E. Boyatzis, Poppy L. McLeod, 2006).  While the women’s soccer team clearly had that goal in mind, it was not present in the 2004 Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.  (Note:  The Men’s Olympic Basketball Team won the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics and is therefore excluded from this team analysis.)

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said the following of the 2004 men’s basketball team.  “I, too, had watched as the United States had lost its competitive edge in international basketball.  This is not to place blame on those involved with the 2004 Olympic basketball team, a team that was comprised of some of the most talented players and some of the most knowledgeable coaches in the game.  In my perspective, the system failed them.  The team was sent into competition ill-prepared.  It was not a lack of talent or basketball know-how; it was simply a lack of proper time and competition.” It was easy to point fingers and blame this guy or that guy for the way he acted or didn’t act in 2004, but Jerry (Colangelo) and I both believed that it was our current system that was flawed, not the players.  This system was no longer conducive to winning.” (Krzyzewski, 2008) This made sense, but there were other opinions cited that list some deficiencies of the team that prevented them from following the team development per the ICT models.

Every “star” in the NBA isn’t equally productive.  As noted at Wired.com, players who score in abundance tend to be considered “stars.” But wins in the NBA – again, as noted at Wired.com — are primarily about shooting efficiency, gaining possession of the ball (i.e. grabbing defensive rebounds and steals), and keeping possession of the ball (i.e. grabbing offensive rebounds and avoiding turnovers).  Just chucking the ball at the basket might help a player increase his scoring totals (and consequently his salary and fan base); but if the shooting isn’t very efficient, then that scoring doesn’t really help a team win.

It also didn’t help that in 2004, many of the “stars” were just rookies in the NBA.  Other stars decided to pass on the Olympics and that narrowed the choices of who the coaches could select to the team.  Additionally, there were personalities on the team that had been rivals or enemies prior to getting named to the team.  “Strong negative emotions at the group level is seen as hindering the group task, or the formation of a shared identity” (Kleio Akrivou, Richard. E. Boyatzis, Poppy L. McLeod, 2006).  An example of this would be when Isaiah Thomas was not selected to the 1992 “Dream Team”.  This had no bearing on the level of his play (which at the time was the best in the NBA at the point guard position) but rather on the emotional and personal conflicts that Thomas had with other members of the team.

Both the men’s basketball team and the women’s soccer team had to go through the stages of team development.  They are change, stability, and continuity.  The women’s soccer team negotiated all three of these phases and continued the achievement of their shared goal.  The men’s basketball team was unsuccessful at handling the initial change (team formation) and never really stabilized as they should have.  That made continuity extremely difficult.  In a team game, such basketball, it is not always guaranteed that the best individual players when put together on a team will perform as the best team.  Chemistry is involved.  A less skilled player could make an impact if he could bring together the various phases of the game FOR his teammates.  It is often the best accolade an athlete can get when they are cited as someone who “makes everyone around them better”.  Team USA in 2004 lacked such a player.  Other teams that appeared to be less skilled than the US team, developed their ICT as a team and played better together. 

The bottom line is that the women’s soccer team had hope, an image of a desired outcome, and a solid core identity, whereas the men’s basketball team in 2004 did not.

References:

Kleio Akrivou, Richard. E. Boyatzis, Poppy L. McLeod, (2006) "The evolving group: towards a prescriptive theory of intentional group development", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 25 Iss: 7, pp.689 – 706

Boyatzis, Richard. & McKee, Annie. (2005) Resonant Leadership, Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Richard E. Boyatzis, (2006) "An overview of intentional change from a complexity perspective", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 25 Iss: 7, pp.607 – 623

Retrieved from: Wired.com, 2008