Lessons From Baseball
As I often commute on the Long Island Rail Road from New York City, I always notice fellow riders absorbed in the sports section of the newspaper. Seems that there are lessons to be learned from baseball which are applicable to the world of work. A recent article in the New York Times explores the performance of groups under pressure. It compares "decentralized" groups such as the New York Yankees with "strongly connected" ones such as the Boston Red Sox. Some interesting comments from the article...
"...social scientists who have studied group performance under pressure say that often it is decentralized groups that prove more resilient than strongly connected ones; they are better able to weather outside criticism and internal quarrels.
Evidence from personality profiles and from studies of military, corporate and space flight crews suggests that looser ties between group members can be a strength, if the team includes individuals who can generate collective emotion when needed.
"So much of psychology and sociology emphasizes the importance of communicating and creating strong bonds to improve group performance, but in a lot of situations that is just not how it works," said Dr. Calvin Morrill, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, who has studied group behavior in competitive corporate situations and in high schools.
When it comes to dissent and bickering, the article notes:
"When a common purpose is shared, loosely tied groups can function better than strongly bonded ones when it comes to containing dissent or bickering, research suggests. In studies of neighborhood organizations and corporate teams, social scientists have observed that members with weak ties can withdraw from disagreements without disrupting the group or their own work. On a tightly knit team, by contrast, a falling out between key members can divide a squad, forcing people to take sides, psychologists say. "The idea is that any sort of problem is likely to ripple more strongly and quickly through a close group than one with weak ties," said Dr. Mark Granovetter, a professor of sociology at Stanford."
In the corporate world, we spend a lot of time and effort on activites that try to get people bond and get along. Perhaps the individual nature of some of our management teams and groups is not such a bad thing after all. They may be inclined to be more resilient and able to handle stress better. Having said that, there's no way I'm putting bets on who will win the next World Series!
Interesting! I've posted an item about it in my Yankees box (left nav bar) -- not sure if the trackback will work there, but just wanted you to know it's there!
Go Yanks!