The team had received a message inviting them to a weekly training session as a contribution to their physical preparation. One of the members reacted proactively and provided the coach with lots of details and the mention that he was looking forward to his training session.

He had not seen, that the invitation was addressed to the whole team. One could think that this was a communication issue. However, that might be too easy an explanation.

The team in question was the club’s golf team. That is individuals who are playing an individual sport in a team. The ability to perform as a team and to help one another while playing golf is restricted as there is hardly any interdependence between the team members on the golf course.

A soccer team is a different kind of team. All the players have an assigned role and their success is based on their ability to play within their role and stick as much as possible to the defined strategy. It’s a team that relies on individuals being able to be exactly there where the ball arrives. While there might be some exceptions, the team relies heavily on players living up to their role.

A basketball team will have a different outlook on their cooperation. There is much more fluidity in positions and a greater need for coordination. Which contributes to a higher acceptance of their interdependence.

So while our golfer might have misread the message, it could also simply have been a result of his team mindset. They all will enjoy and feel honored to be on the team, however, when it comes to acting, they will start with themselves and focus on developing their individual capacities.

Different games, different teams, different expectations.

This makes team a very generic term.

It invites leaders to think about the way their teams can work together and what is most adequate for the organization.