Describe the holding environment that the co-captains created for the team. Do y

Question

Describe the holding environment that the co-captains created for the team. Do you think it was successful? Why or why not? Text book (Leadership : Theory and Practice (Ed. 7) by Northouse, Peter G. chapter 11)

Case Study

taming Bacchus Kyle Barrett is a serious ultimate disc player. He became involved in the sport—which is a bit like soccer only with a flying disc—in middle school and played competitively in high school. When he went to college at a small liberal arts school in the pacific northwest, he was excited to find the school had an ultimate disc team. His excitement quickly turned to dismay when he found the team members were more interested in partying than playing.

Kyle remembers this about his first year on the team: “The team really had this sort of fraternity culture in that there was light hazing, drinking was a priority, and tournaments were about parties, not competition. The team threw a lot of parties and had this reputation for exclusivity.” even the team’s name, Bacchus (the Roman god of wine and drunkenness), reflected this culture. Kyle found a like-minded soul in his teammate Harrison, and together they sought to turn the club team into a program that operated on a more competitive level. The pair was chosen as team co-captains and began to share their deeper knowledge of the sport with the team. They also communicated their aspirations for success. This flew in the face of some team members who were there for the parties. As one player put it, “you were either down with it, or you decided it was too intense and you left the club.” The two captains knew that the team’s culture wasn’t going to change just because they wanted it to. They also knew that they couldn’t be captains, coach the team, and be players at the same time. so they began taking a number of steps to help the team change its own culture. First, they brought in Mario o’Brien, a well-known ultimate disc coach, to help guide the team and teach the players skills and strategy. The team had had other coaches in the past, but none of those had the knowledge, experience, or reputation that o’Brien did. “That really took some forethought,” says a player, “to be able to step back and say, ‘What does this team really need to become a strong program?’ And then making a move to bring in someone of o’Brien’s stature.” After a few weeks of practice with o’Brien, the captains and coach organized a team dinner. Before the dinner they asked each player to anonymously submit in writing what he thought of the team and what he wanted to see the team be. “There were no rules—just say what you need to say,” says a player. each submission was read aloud and discussed by team members. “no one was put in the position of having to publically speak out and be embarrassed in front of the others,” says a player. “We came out of that meeting more together, more bonded as a team. We hashed out a lot of issues, and came to the realization that we were looking for the same goals. The process helped filter out those who weren’t as committed to those goals, but not in a confrontational way.” The goals agreed to at that dinner meeting were for the team to do well enough at the sectional competition to obtain a berth at the national collegiate competition. But the team was young with a number of inexperienced players, which sometimes caused stress,
frustration, and friction. The captains, however, continued to have
multiple meetings to talk about concerns, discussed the team’s goals before and after each practice, and organized social events (with a minimum of drinking) where team members engaged in activities together other than playing ultimate disc. older, more experienced players began mentoring the younger, newer players to help them improve their skills. even Harrison, who was an exceptional offensive player, put himself on the defensive line to help improve those players’ skills. While it wasn’t optimal for his own enjoyment and playing abilities, he felt it was needed to help improve the team. Bacchus reached its goals two years later; it came in second at sectionals and earned a spot in the national competition. After the team completed its last game at nationals, Kyle and Harrison gathered the team members together in a circle. “We accomplished something more than being here today,” Kyle said. “We’ve become a family with goals, and with respect for one another and for our game. And that’s a better victory than any other.”

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Explanation / Answer

Creating a holding environment refers to establishing an atmosphere in which people can feel safe tackling difficult problems, but not so much so that they can avoid the problem. A holding environment is a structural, procedural, or virtual space formed by cohesive relationships between people. It can be physical space, a shared language, common history, a deep trust in an institution and its authority, or a clear set of rules and processes that allow groups to function with safety.

Kyle and Harrison were successful at creating a holding environment for the team. First, they met at a restaurant and encouraged the players to share team goals openly and honestly. No one was reprimanded for his or her opinions, and a frank discussion took place in a neutral holding environment.

Kyle and Harrison kept a holding environment for the group due to the deep trust that they created in the team and in their authority. It seems as though players felt they could freely share their frustrations and concerns with Kyle and Harrison, which allowed the team to work through the adaptive change safely.

I REQUEST YOU TO KINDLY RATE THE ANSWER AS THUMBS UP. THANKS A LOT.

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