To make a closer analysis, I had to be inside the group to participate in meals, gatherings, training and matches.
I do not have that opportunity, but with my outside perspective, experience and knowledge of what research says about well-functioning teams, I see some clear signs.
Sweden and the Swedish Football Association have for a long time worked systematically to increase the probability that the national team will function at all levels.
They have recruited a confident leader with extensive experience who bases his leadership on knowledge.
Gerhardsson, in turn, has built a staff around him with a number of individuals with cutting-edge expertise that he trusts.
Assistant national team captain Magnus Wikman, an experienced national team manager in Marika Domanski Lyfors, match analyst, medical and administrative staff and not least the sports psychology advisor Rasmus Wallin Thornberg who acts as the spider in the web for leaders but above all for players at individual and group level.
I know from personal experience that that role is important for the team.
Through the systematic work, the national team management prior to the championship has worked out a stable foundation to stand on that provides the best opportunities to perform as a team on site.
Taken out players with skills and different top qualities that work together for a long time.
For several years, worked out an environment where players and leaders thrive together.
Set a clear goal with what they will accomplish at the Olympics.
- The coaching staff has implemented a clear way of working on and off the football field where players know what is expected of them in each role at different stages.
When these basic preconditions are made, the work on site for leaders and players is about working with goals, relationships and communication.
Goal
I hear Swedish players repeat "We will go all the way!"
Within the group, this performance goal is guaranteed to be broken down into a number of behavioral goals.
Examples of behavioral goals can be what Hanna Glas should do in her right-back role in game building or how she should act in defensive post situations.
Behavioral goals are both on and off the field, they are continuously evaluated and analyzed in the smallest detail on the journey towards gold.
Relationships
I note the Swedish national team's positive way of behaving both towards the media, the environment and towards each other.
Behaviors that send the signal "We thrive together!"
Not everyone loves each other, but they can obviously handle and accept each other as different individuals, which is a success factor for well-functioning groups.
Communication
Communication, both internally and externally, is an important key.
I see positive body language in matches, encouraging players and noting how little negative energy is leaking to us around.
Given the well-being expressed in all forums, the security and clarity in working methods on the pitch, this part seems to work well.
Getting a functioning team is complex, theory is one thing, but getting many individuals to be functional, presenting and prosperous together is something else.
Many leaders try but few succeed fully.
The way the Swedish national team works, they increase the probability that both results and performance will be as good as it has been so far.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that eight new players, in the match against New Zealand, can feel the security and confidence to perform the way they did.
It is very likely that it will continue in the same way.