One of the groups which I'm very involved in is a fantasy football league that exists between my friends and I. There are 14 of us that all went to high school and it's one of the ways we can all keep in touch. We all have common goals, like having a fun and competitive league, but we are all individually motivated to win. As a result, this group falls on the "competitive" edge of the McGrath Circumplex. With an activity like fantasy football, the strategies are both behavioral (trades or roster moves) and conceptual (assigning values to players you want).
There are several key inputs to our group. First and foremost, we all love football and have a lot of (too much?) knowledge of the NFL. We also bring a competitive drive to win. Yet possibly the most important input is the agreement to play by the rules. Nothing can ruin a league quicker than a player who quits in the first few weeks or cheats by making unfair trades. Luckily, our group history and close relationships help prevent this. We all trust each other and know we can be counted on. This also helps us overcome the relatively large group size. The desired output is dually a competitive individual season, as well as a healthy league.
Our interaction processes involve both face to face and online exchanges. The draft is inducted with all of us together in one place, which helps to foster group cohesiveness, speed along the draft, and have fun together. It can be a logistical nightmare to find an available time, but the face to face interactions are integral for the group. This proximity makes us feel attached to both the league and each other. It also makes it take on a seemingly more important role: if we put real time and effort into the league, we have more incentive for it to work properly. During the season, most of our communication takes place online through message boards and emails. This makes communication more sporadic, but also more convenient. On the plus side, we can answer messages when we're free. However, some emails don't get answered at all because of this. Yet, it would be nearly impossible to run a league without any mediated interaction. As a result, I think the "mixed mode" relationships between our group members helps to strengthen our league as a whole, and our individual relationships. We just finished year 5, and I see no signs of stopping.
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It would appear that a “mixed mode” relationship as you describe it is very helpful in several ways to online group cohesion. The balance of FTF with CMC interaction helps with anonymity as well as a healthy communication of various types of cues keeping the group stable and friendly. When you know who you are interacting with and see them it would seem that that helps to limit harsh intergroup dynamics and provide a more productive outcome. It's good to see that your league has lasted so long and I wonder how many more years it will continue.
ReplyDeleteI am also in a fantasy league but for the NBA and I see some of the same ideals you have. Actually at one time since I don't really participate and had a losing team I was approached to sort of throw in the flag. So the competitive edge was attempted to be taken away from me by having me give up my best players so they could have the strongest team. We too have a mixed mode relationship. The cohesiveness of the group as you say is fostered by the groups reliance on the rules and fair play.
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