Team Tips: The Perfect Team, by Gary Beyer
You Might As Well Be Searching For The Holy Grail...
How often have you heard of a team who's had a big argument and broken up before, during or immediately after Nationals, having already spent an
exorbitant amount of money? Most of the time this could have been avoided by simple communication, honesty and a little bit of compromise from the outset.
Instead, the 'volcano effect' takes hold and petty grievances, built up over the course of the year, come to an ugly head, usually at an important and stressful
event like Nationals.
Quite often, a couple of months down the line, the issue that causes the break-up seems pretty minor. But it's an all-too-common practice in skydiving, and one that detracts
from teams and individuals being able to perform at their best. Most teams require a minimum of two years to even scratch the surface of
their full potential. It takes time for teams to gel to the extent that they have true communication, anticipation and knowledge of working together. But this
all-pervasive attitude, which makes it acceptable to break up a team over somewhat insignificant differences, prevents the sport and individual skydivers
from growing and progressing. It's the syndrome of seeking the 'perfect' team, which has become so commonplace in skydiving that we could almost be
forgiven for thinking it's acceptable.
What Is The Perfect Team?
Most competitive skydivers have an idea of what the 'perfect' team is. They look at teams like the Golden Knights, Airspeed, XL and VMax, see these teams
communicating and performing well, and make the assumption that, to some degree, team members are virtual clones of each other. They never see
individuals disagreeing or arguing, and believe these must be 'perfect' teams comprised of 'perfect' skydiving individuals with 'perfect' personalities. They
imagine how great it would be to be part of a team like this and that their own problems stem from being unable to replicate this perceived perfection in their own teams.
Because of this unrealistic expectation, too many talented skydivers waste their
time not training with a team at all. There's nothing worse than not training – in
fact, some of my steepest learning curves have come from being part of what
could be described as 'dysfunctional' teams.
In a similar way, teams waste time by constantly replacing 'flawed' team
members in search of the 'perfect' team dynamic; instead they should be
working together, getting over personality differences to achieve a common
goal, which is performing at the team best.
It May Come As A Shock But... There Is No Perfect Team!
The truth is that on any team, individuals have their own ideas, flaws and times of
stress – and often disagree with their
teammates. Our unique qualities and
imperfections make us part of this diverse
human race; differences are inevitable. I
can't think of a more diverse group of
people than Airspeed 8 – our
disagreements ranged from how many
jumps to do, to physical training and
jumpsuit colours.
Despite this, I often hear how up-andcoming
jumpers idealise the top teams
and think they always get along perfectly
with each other. The result is that when a
disagreement naturally occurs on their
own team, they assume it's an inherent,
insurmountable fault and subsequently
break up or switch members. Differences
like this are to be expected; they are part
and parcel of team training, no matter
what level you're at.
A reply I often hear to this is, “Yeah, but
we're not Airspeed”, implying it's easier to
deal with team disagreements and
personality conflicts when you're a
professional team; if you have to put up
with it for 'work', then somehow you can.
But when non-pro teams nowadays are
spending between £1,000 and £10,000
per person per year, it seems like a few
minor differences could be worth dealing
with for longer than just one season!
More to the point, there's really no
alternative: if you want to perform you
have to deal!
It's easy for teams to think their issues are
unique and that problems can't be
resolved. However, it is most likely that
the individuals are not willing to work out
their issues. Usually the problem is
nothing more than the result of
someone's need to express themselves
and this, in turn, being taken the wrong
way. Problems like this could have been
resolved months earlier with the input of
a good coach or by using truthful 'pass
the rock' sessions where team members
get the opportunity to vent and
communicate openly.
Teams need to realise that what they're
going through is normal; conflict is part
of a natural evolution for every team.
Every single team goes through conflicts.
The difference between a successful team
and a failing team is that the former
works out their differences whereas the
failing team does not. It's not a matter of
individuals being unable to resolve their
conflicts – it's simply that they are
unwilling. Airspeed has gone through few
big decisions without some pretty heated
opinions being cast around the room.
Because every team goes through the
same cycles of development, it's worth
outlining what those cycles are, so they
know what to expect. One way of
looking at how teams grow and mature
is to use Bruce Tuckman's 'forming,
storming, norming, performing' model*.big decisions without some pretty heated
opinions being cast around the room.
Because every team goes through the
same cycles of development, it's worth
outlining what those cycles are, so they
know what to expect. One way of
looking at how teams grow and mature
is to use Bruce Tuckman's 'forming,
storming, norming, performing' model*.
STAGE 1: Forming, The Honeymoon Phase
When most teams join up, everyone gets along. Team members are excited about the new team and keen to get started.
This is known as the honeymoon phase. Most skydivers are jubilant that they actually have a team to skydive with, morale
is high and negative personality traits are kept in check. It's very important in the 'forming' stage to get an experienced coach
for guidance and direction. Many teams also benefit from having a team leader and this is the time to appoint them. You
should also spend quite a bit of time discussing your goals and aspirations as honestly as possible, as this will avoid
problems down the line. It is very frustrating being in a team where people have completely different agendas; one wants
to go to the World Meet and another just wants to swoop at the end of the dive!
Levels of commitment in terms of number of jumps, tunnel, money and time should be discussed as a priority. While not
every member of the team will have exactly the same objectives, as long as they are in the same ballpark the team can
succeed. It's important to come to a workable compromise and move on. Rejecting a team whose goals don't precisely
match yours and ending up not jumping is much worse than doing only 200 team jumps instead of the 300 you wanted!
Individual long term goals can be different. It's fine if one person eventually wants to become a World Champion and
another just wants to compete for a couple of years before moving on to other things, as long as the collective team goal
is agreed upon and compatible for the duration of the agreed term of the team. I refer to this as 'buying into the contract'.
The key agreements of this 'contract' are that individuals:
- Agree to work together to achieve the common goal.
- Agree to communicate honestly with each other, often by having regular 'pass the rock' sessions.
- Value their differences; they recognise that every person has a different background and personality, so will have
different ways of relating and behaving.
- Seek to gain insider learning about their impact on the team, ie, thinking before speaking, and recognising that what
they say has the potential to impact the team in a negative (or positive) way. Individuals should be responsible and
accountable for their actions and words.
STAGE 2: Storming, Guess What? The Honeymoon Is Over!
This is the frustrating stage of learning with the team; individual quirks start to come out and team members vie for position
as they attempt to establish themselves. Cliques can also start to form within the team – questions and uncertainties come
up and the 'contract' itself may be questioned. This is where most teams sow the seeds of inevitable self-destruction. Simply
put, this is the stage where arguments might occur over block techniques, individual performance and styles of relating.
Even table manners, personal hygiene and fashion sense can all come under attack! It's important to realise that this is
natural human behaviour in a goal-orientated team environment. It's also important for individuals and the team to reiterate
the goals they set and believe that the team outcome is more important than individual needs. At this stage, outside help
in the form of a coach experienced in dealing with team dynamics is invaluable.
I've heard more times than I'd like to recollect, “I guess I'm just not a team-player”. I don't believe this. That individual is
just not willing to compromise or never bought into the 'contract' in the first place. People who are described as 'team
players' are just more willing than others to suppress their need to be heard all the time. I believe there's no such thing as
a natural team player. Anyone has the ability to become a team player as long as they are prepared, at times, to put aside
their own ego for the good of the team. Knowing that the 'storming' stage is normal and can be overcome by focusing and
refocusing on the agreed team 'contract' is critical. There's no knowing when the 'storming' will occur or how long it will
last. However the sooner a team recognises it and accepts it as normal, the sooner the team will leave this phase behind.
STAGE 3: Norming, Congratulations, You've Got Further Than Most Teams!
This is the phase where the team has recognised individuality as a strength and has matured as a group. Commitment and
unity are strong. It could feel similar to the honeymoon phase but, instead of being based on enthusiasm alone, it marks
a time of personal growth and acceptance. Roles and responsibilities are clear and welcomed: the team's everyday
interactions have become like clockwork, and the daily training routine, including team meetings and 'pass the rock'
sessions, is more instinctive and needs no prompting.
It's important to realise the individuals themselves have not fundamentally changed and disagreements will still occur.
However teammates have come to understand that having their personal needs met is secondary to team growth. The same
disagreements teams had in the 'storming' stage suddenly seem less important and are dealt with more quickly and in a
more mature manner.
STAGE 4: Performing, The Fun Part!
In this stage the team has a high degree of autonomy and will be running like a well-oiled machine. The team is able to
focus on performance; personal issues that would have held them back previously as a distraction have melted into the
background and become irrelevant. This is also the phase where individual relationships and trust are consolidated within
the group. On a personal level, team members trust that each one will always act for the good of the team –
communication between piece partners is open and honest. In the sky, everything falls into an instinctual rhythm, more so
than a forced or conscious act. Trust in individuals' ability runs high, allowing team members to be sure that others will also
fly their slots with confidence. This in turn allows for faster keys, more confident moves and, ultimately, more points.
Teams should expect that disagreements will still occur – even arguments – but now issues are resolved within the team
positively. It's also important to recognise that, even though a team has reached the 'performing' stage, teammates may not
be the best of friends. However they trust and respect each other because of the understanding that they are all focused
on the common goal, ie, the 'contract'. This phase is more easily attainable than most people think. It's the most fun part
of training and the pay-offs are numerous. Individual growth, realisation of your potential, a load more points and the best
skydiving you'll ever do are just some of them. It's a choice that anyone can make.
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