Teamwork Execution and Team Resilience: A Multistudy Examination of Reciprocal and Longitudinal Relationships

Abstract

The purpose of this multistudy article was to examine relationships between variables within an input-mediator-outcome (IMO) framework of team effectiveness in sport over the course of a competitive season. In Study 1, 1,566 athletes (Mage = 22.1 years, SD = 5.2) from 104 teams completed measures of teamwork execution and team resilience at two timepoints (2 months apart) during a season. Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) revealed significant, reciprocal, and positive relationships between teamwork execution and characteristics of resilience, as well as significant, reciprocal, and negative relationships between teamwork execution and vulnerability under pressure, from Time 1 (T1) to Time 2 (T2) at both the individual and team level. Study 2 built on these findings by testing propositions from the IMO model of team effectiveness. Measures of perceived athlete leadership quality (input; T1), teamwork execution and team resilience (mediators; T2), and team performance (outcome; Time 3 [T3]) were completed by 1,117 athletes (Mage = 24.8, SD = 5.6) within 92 teams over 8 months. MSEM showed perceived athlete leadership quality had significant positive associations with teamwork execution and characteristics of resilience at player and team levels, and a significant negative relationship with player-level vulnerability under pressure. Of the mediators assessed at T2, only teamwork execution had a significant and positive relationship with perceived team performance at T3, specifically at the player level. Our findings highlight the reciprocal relationship between teamwork execution and team resilience, the importance of athlete leadership in fostering these mediators, and the associations of those variables with perceptions of team performance.