Situation Description
I will describe a situation in which the protagonist’s dream in the movie Mighty Ducks, Gordon, was fulfilled thanks to the well-coordinated work of the team. The team I will be observing is a well-functioning hockey team. The background of this team is quite complex: it is a children’s team with participants who were previously considered outsiders (Warren, 2009).
The nature of the team consists of support and friendship, and its goal is to defeat another team. The setting and location of the team is an ordinary American school. An important detail relevant to my overall observation and findings is the personal motivation of the coach, who suddenly felt a sense of recognition.
Observation Analysis
Team Formation Stages
At the beginning of the film, the team is at a stage of disappointment; however, through the process of plot development, they transition to active and functioning stages. The catalyst for the transition is a new technique of Coach Gordon. The coach often talks to motivate the team, and he often succeeds. At the same time, some of the hockey team participants are initially quite shy, but over time, they open up and begin to communicate with the coach as well (Herek, 1992). The group initially functions poorly. However, after Coach Gordon’s new methodology, its work is getting better, and the players are becoming much more effective, including due to better internal communication.
Team Leadership
Gordon, the coach and team leader, exercises considerable authority and power. However, he tries to become a charismatic leader, earning the respect of the players. He demonstrates by his own example that if the kids follow his advice, the team will have a future and achieve results (Northouse, 2020).
The relationship between the facilitator and the participants is initially tense. Children are not interested in listening to Gordon, as they like to play and have fun more than playing hockey. Initially, the children are entirely independent from Gordon as a formal leader. However, over time, when he gains their authority, the situation changes. Children listen to Gordon’s advice and become reactive.
Gordon also becomes an informal leader among the guys. He begins to concentrate on himself, the main streams of psychological information, and finds contact with each of the team members. The fact that he also becomes their friend makes him an informal leader, as children turn to him for advice outside the hockey field. He is responsible for establishing communication with the group’s children. It is Gordon, as a coach, who controls which of the guys takes which position and how effective they are in them (Warren, 2009). He also sets the psychological mood, thus exercising both visible and invisible control.
Team Communication
The children are very friendly with each other, so they contribute to building and harnessing the whole group, and do not advocate independent positions to the extent that they would interfere with the team’s work. The group moves towards integration because the technique invented by Gordon teaches children to play in a team more smoothly. At the same time, the team members do not adapt themselves to the new conditions for them (Griffith & Dunham, 2014). The coach consistently and systematically adapts them to a new way of interaction, increasing overall efficiency and productivity.
Team Conflict
The team members are children who initially rallied against the coach. After that, they began to become even closer friends with each other, so each group member learned to include, control, and recognize other team members. At the same time, children, with their characteristic spontaneity, are often direct and robust during interactions (Northouse, 2020).
Participants successfully navigate tension, learn to express their feelings, begin to accept leadership roles, and agree on the right to exist with differing viewpoints. Individuals as a whole fight: first, they unite against a new common enemy – the coach. Then they team up and fight against another hockey team.
Individuals coalesce against Gordon, then react to his new coaching methodology on how to beat the other team. After that, they decide to follow his advice and finally join in. Among the values and ideals that seem to be causing conflicts are the desire of children to play and have fun. In their value system, adults are considered boring, and playing hockey is not deemed an essential worthwhile activity (Griffith & Dunham, 2014). Gordon’s attempt to change their priorities and introduce victory into the value system of children causes conflicts.
Insights Gained
The first insight I gained through this observation activity is that integration is one of the most effective ways to organize teamwork when a leader is appointed from the outside. On the one hand, as a manager, this person has all the necessary competencies, powers, and responsibilities. However, for their team, they are still newcomers who have not yet been accepted into the team. In this case, the integration program enables the safe revision of group norms during the cycle of team sessions and correlates these changes with the established goals and objectives.
The second insight I gained from this observation activity, about the power of observing the unseen forces, is how effective charismatic leadership can be, even with an initially unfriendly team. The third insight I gained from this observation activity is that a gradual and phased value shift is necessary among team members so that they can accept the changes.
References
Herek, S. (Director). (1992). The Mighty Ducks. Walt Disney Television Animation.
Griffith, B. A., & Dunham, E. B. (2014). Working in teams: Moving from high potential to high performance. Sage Publications.
Northouse, P. G. (2020). Introduction to leadership. Sage Publications.
Warren, B. (2009). On becoming a leader. Hachette Digital.