I am not sure if this is the case in your house, but recently my TV has been dominated by the Soccer World Cup - grown men crying and the constant drone of the vuvuzelas. This, punctuated by Wimbledon, State of Origin and the AFL, means that a glass of wine and a chick flick has been scheduled for a before breakfast time slot, which is an interesting way to start the day.

But all this focus on sport is really a focus on team dynamics. Why do some teams win and others fail?  Some would say the star players are pivotal, however, they can’t shine unless another team member feeds them the ball. They are still part of a team, which has to work together to achieve a goal. And they do this, firstly by playing in their chosen position, so playing to their preferences, and secondly by communicating. It is this combination of working to your strengths and linking together that wins the game. Look at Spain’s fabulous and totally unpredictable win against Germany. That was pure teamwork!

The coach is also important of course. You can have a great team but a bad coach and get nowhere. The coach’s main job is to allow everyone to reach their full potential, by identifying everyone’s strengths and developing them. For this purpose it is not unusual for sporting teams to use valid and reliable psychometrics and certainly many have taken advantage of the Team Management Profile successfully in this regard.  An example of this is the AFR Midnight Rambler team in the Sydney to Hobart race and the Australian Alpine Association’s 2001 ascent of Everest. You can’t develop an individual’s potential without identifying it beforehand, nor can you maximise your strengths if you don’t know what they are.

So the real winner is teamwork!  Working to your preferences and linking. Congratulations Spain!

Julie Pigdon