Teamwork Step 8

Teamwork: Working cooperatively with others towards achieving a shared goal.

Step 8: I contribute to group decision making, encouraging others to contribute

Outcomes

To achieve Step 8, learners will show that they can contribute to group decision making, while actively encouraging other people to participate too.

In the previous two steps, the focus was on how to contribute to group decision making. This step builds on this by actively encouraging others to contribute too.

Learners need to be able to:

Understand why everyone should contribute
Understand why sometimes people don't want to contribute
Recognise how you can encourage others to contribute effectively

Introduction

For a team to make the best possible decisions it needs to benefit from the fullest possible set of views, experiences and information.
Teams perform best when they make the best use of every team member and when everyone feels motivated.
There are a few disadvantages of not encouraging others: losing the benefit of collective experience, individuals feel excluded, an increased risk of bias, power goes to certain individuals.

Skill Starter

Know the Drill

Put learners into small groups. Ask each learner to write an idea for a drill or sports-related skill activity and present it to the other members of their team.

Each team will then have to discuss all the ideas and come up with one activity, which will then be presented to the wider group and included in a session.

10 mins

Group activity

Discussion

Teach & Apply

Ask why someone may not feel they can contribute to a team discussion: e.g. a lack of expertise or confidence, they feel unwelcome, they disagree with the majority, they have additional needs that have not been considered.
Making group discussions a safe space is key; people should feel encouraged, appreciated, included and supported.
Share and model strategies to include people in discussions: asking directly; giving options; helping them to develop their ideas through questioning; turn-taking to check everyone has been included.
At the end of all the contributions, it is the role of the leader to secure a final decision. At this point, you can be helpful by suggesting: combining ideas, compromises, ways of reaching a decision like voting

Optional Activity

Strategic Discussion

Put learners into teams of 3 to 5. Give each team a different strategy for including others in discussion (directly asking, using a talking object, giving people specific options…).

Using the strategy they have been given, each team then spends 5 - 10 minutes discussing and making a decision on the following: ‘Should there be mixed teams in professional sports?’

At the end, feed back and reflect:

Was everyone included in your discussion?
Was the strategy you used helpful? Why? Why not? How would they make improvements next time?

If there is time, give learners the opportunity to hold a new group discussion and try out a different strategy. Are more members of the team able to contribute?

15 mins

Group activity

Discussion

Reflection & Assessment

Embed these strategies across your teaching and coaching to help learners apply what they’ve learnt.

Support learners to make the connection between discussions and playing sports by including others and encourage every team member to contribute in sports activities.

Use these ideas for ways of assessing this skill step to help you check learners’ understanding and confidence.

Observe discussions to assess whether all learners are contributing and including each other, and everyone’s ideas are being listened to and acknowledged.
Ask these reflective questions:
- Why might you need to encourage others to contribute their ideas?
- What might you miss out on if you don’t?
- How can you do this effectively?