Two Paths to Performance
Peak performance is the key priority for sports teams of all levels. The Eagles demand the best from their players, contributing to their most recent Superbowl victory. PSG revamped their roster, shifted organizational operations, and won their first ever Champions League title.
In each of these examples, a very specific set of goals had been established. That said, what sorts of goals are the most effective in facilitating team performance in elite sports?
In their study titled “Dual pathways to high performance: Team achievement goals, cooperation, and competition in elite sports teams” (2024), Van Mierlo & Van Hooft expand upon the connection between team mastery goals and within-team cooperation, as well as team achievement goals and within-team competitiveness. The authors propose that former connection facilitates team performance while, more nuanced, the latter does as well.
Achievement Goal Theory posits that mastery goals are significantly more powerful in facilitating performance than achievement goals. Mastery goals are associated with performance through their tendencies to enhance intrinsic motivation, bolster resilience, and prioritize learning and development. Achievement goals on the other hand, prioritize outcomes, contribute to stress and pressure, thus leading to extrinsic motivation.
In their study, the authors determined that elite sporting environments perception of performance goals and competition are more nuanced than this theoretical perspective. Due to the inherently competitive nature of elite sports teams, evaluative environment, and competitively structured training environments, elite sports teams walk a fine line between competition and cooperation.
The results of the study found that elite sport environments had high levels of both achievement goals and mastery goals. The authors deduced that due to the high stakes environment, achievement goals were comparatively a lot less impactful. Therefore, there is a dual path to peak performance.
Mastery goals facilitate team cooperation, leading to prosocial behavior like helping teammates, developing competencies, and striving for technical mastery. Sports teams are unlikely to perform at all without cooperation among all members.
Performance goals facilitate team competition, attracting like minded players to an environment which values demonstrating talent, impressing others, and being the best.
In conclusion, the authors uncovered the linkages between mastery goals, team cooperation, achievement goals, team competition, and how each of these factors relate to performance. In the end, a two fold pathway to performance was found. Through a shared focus on learning and developing, team members adopted more cooperative behaviors, leading to enhanced outcomes. Moreover, through a shared focus on winning and outperforming others, team members adopted more competitive behaviors, leading to enhanced outcomes. The authors coined this relationship “coopetitive” environments, requiring a fine line to be walked between cooperation and competition.
TLDR, what does this mean for you? In elite sporting environments, cooperation and competition are not mutually exclusive. Instead, adopting both mastery goals and achievement goals may help benefit elite team sporting outcomes. Striking this fine line between cooperation and competition is essential the health and success of this dual pathway approach.
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Van Mierlo, H., & Van Hooft, E. A. J. (2024). Dual pathways to high performance: Team achievement goals, cooperation, and competition in elite sports teams. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 37(2), 207–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2024.2383874