“Dimensions
of Variability” is a subtopic of Diversity.
The term Diversity is commonly associated with gender, skin color, and
cultural norms. The study of Diversity
expands into diversity of thought; this is the space that “Dimensions of
Variability” inhabits. All of these are
spectrums, but I will only describe the polar ends.
Individual – Collectivistic:
Individualistic
cultures are oriented around the self, independent instead of identifying with
a group mentality. They see each other as only loosely linked, and value
personal goals above that of the group. Individualistic cultures tend to have a
more diverse population, and are characterized with emphasis on personal
achievements, and a rational assessment of both the beneficial and detrimental
aspects of relationships with others
Collectivists
usually focus on community, society, or nation. It is used and has been used as
an element in many different and diverse types of government and political,
economic and educational philosophies throughout history and all human
societies in practice contain elements of both individualism and collectivism.
Consider
play A. He is a terrible defender and a
good thrower. He values his self-worth by
how far he can throw a huck. If he has
an individualistic perspective he will continue to exclusively his hucks
believing that improving what he wants to improve will ultimately benefit the
team as a whole. If he has a
collectivistic perspective he will recognize that playing defense is a base
requirement for helping the team be successful and will find ways to improve
his defensive ability even if it takes time away from his hucking practice.
Low Context – High Context:
A
high context individual is more likely to ask for assistance rather than
attempt to work out a solution independently. The high context person may be
frustrated by people appearing to not want to develop a relationship or
continue to help them on an ongoing basis. The term "hand-holding"
might be used to describe high context individuals in an unintentionally
derogatory sense.
A
lower context individual may be more likely to try to work things out on their
own and feel there is a lack of self-service support or information, rather
than ask questions and take time to develop the relationships needed to
accomplish the things that need to be done.
Imagine
teaching a team a zone. You’re standing
in a circle staring at some discs outlining a few scenarios. Half of your team is like, “let’s just get
out there and get some reps,” these are your low context players. The other half is like “what if the offense
is four inches to the left?” or “what if they get past the zone?” and they
continue to ask questions all before running a single rep of the defense, these
are your high context players.
Task – Relationship:
Task-oriented
leaders focus on getting the necessary task, or series of tasks, at hand in
order to achieve a goal. These leaders are typically less concerned with the
idea of catering to employees, and more concerned with finding the step-by-step
solution required to meet specific goals. They will often actively define the
work and the roles required, put structures in place, and plan, organize, and
monitor progress within the team.
Relationship-oriented
leaders are focused on supporting, motivating and developing the people on
their teams and the relationships within. This style of leadership encourages
good teamwork and collaboration, through fostering positive relationships and
good communication. Relationship-oriented leaders prioritize the welfare of
everyone in the group, and will place time and effort in meeting the individual
needs of everyone involved. This may involve offering incentives like bonuses,
providing mediation to deal with workplace or classroom conflicts, having more
casual interactions with team members to learn about their strengths and
weaknesses, creating a non-competitive and transparent work environment, or
just leading in a personable or encouraging manner.
Yngve
knocks this one out of the park in a classic of a blogpost: http://yngfu.blogspot.com/2015/11/west-coasteast-coast.html. He refers to his buckets as East Coast/West
Coast, psychologists would call them task/relationship.
Uncertainty Avoidance:
High
uncertainty avoidance individuals tend to be more emotional. They try to
minimize the occurrence of unknown and unusual circumstances and to proceed
with careful changes step by step by planning and by implementing rules, laws
and regulations.
Low
uncertainty avoidance individuals accept and feel comfortable in unstructured
situations or changeable environments and try to have as few rules as possible.
People in these cultures tend to be more pragmatic, they are more tolerant of
change.
You
want to introduce your handler sets so you set up a few people and begin
walking through the movements. Someone
interrupts you to ask, “Which way are we going?” or “what is the force?” or “who
is on offense?” These are your high
uncertainty avoidance players. The other
half of the team rolls their eyes at these questions and under their breath
murmur, “let the demo finish then ask questions”, these are your low
uncertainty avoidance players.
Vertical – Horizontal:
Horizontal
collectivism stresses collective decision-making among relatively equal
individuals, and is thus usually based on decentralization.
Vertical
collectivism is based on hierarchical structures of power and on moral and
cultural conformity, and is therefore based on centralization.
Every
team has about 3 captains and maybe a coach, so the power usually sits within 4
people. The remaining 15-24 players are
the plebeians. Consider a random
plebeian. Does he try to tell the power
what to do? Does he offer input when it
isn’t asked for? Does he regularly
critique the leadership? These are your
horizontal players. Consider another
plebeian. Does he shut up and do what he
is told? Does he only offer input when
asked? Does he wait until feedback is
solicited in order to offer his critiques?
This is your vertical player.
