The Science of Teamwork: What

Matters in Practice…

Eduardo Salas, Ph.D.Department of Psychology &Institute of Simulation & TrainingUniversity of Central Floridaesalas@ist.ucf.edu

Outline Today…I. Who cares about teamwork?II. What matters in teamwork?

I. The 7 C’s

III. What do effective teams do?I. Top ten listII. Leaders behaviors

IV. What can you do to enhance teamwork?I. 7 pieces of advice

V. Closing remarks.

I. Who cares about teamwork?

Who Cares about Teams?

Who Cares about Teams?

Who Cares about Teams?

USS Vincennes shoots down Iranian airbus (1988)

Challenger/Columbia accidents tied to poor organizational decision making (1986/2003)

Response to 9/11 reveals communication breakdowns (2001)

Katrina response lacked coordination (2005); so did Gulf Oil spill (2010)

Sago Mine disaster report cites poor command-and-control (2006)

VA Tech communications substandard (2007)

Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster (2012)

Friendly fire incidents Various health care mishaps

attributed to poor teamwork

Some Instance

s of Failures

of Teamwor

k

Miracle on the HudsonAnd some

successes…

Response to Fargo flooding

US 2004 Olympic Basketball Team

"We still have a couple of days, but I don't know where we are," replied USA head coach Larry Brown … I've got a pretty good understanding of who needs to play. Now the job is to get an understanding of how we have to play."

A team of experts does NOT make an expert

team

Collaborative skill is not additive

US 1980 Olympic Ice Hockey Team

Herb Brooks and 20 young “no-names” won the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal in Ice Hockey

An expert team made up of no-names…

II. What Matters in Teamwork?

What is the State of the Science?

How Do We Turn a Team of Experts into an Expert Team?

What is the State of the Science? Theoretically-driven (170+ models!)

“Nothing more practical than a good theory.”

It’s a multi-disciplinary field Explosion of empirical work! Studying real teams; performing real

tasks “Teams in the Wild” Simulations

Experts as participants

What is the State of the Science? Hundreds of teams!

Aviation Healthcare Military Corporate world

Teams defined Task interdependency Distributed expertise Hierarchical organized

Cooperation

Motivational Drivers

Communication

Information Protocols

Cognition

Common Understanding

Coaching

Leadership Activities

Conflict

Conflict Resolution Procedures

Coordination

BehavioralMechanism

TEAMWORKConditions

Norms & Support

Cooperation… Attitudes & Beliefs:

Team Orientation Collective Efficacy Mutual Trust Openness to Experience

Good Teams… Develop collective efficacy Have strong team orientation

Coordination… Behavioral Mechanisms:

Mutual Performance Monitoring Back-up Behavior/Supportive Adaptability/ Flexibility

Good Teams… Self-correct Employ huddle, debriefs

Communication… Information exchange protocols:

Close-loop communication Precise, Timely, Clarity Appropriate terminology

Good Teams… Share unique information

Cognition… Shared understanding:

Roles & Responsibilities Knowledge of team mission; Objectives,

Norms, & Resources Familiarity with Teammates

Good Teams… Have clear roles Team norms are clear

Coaching… Leadership:

Team Leadership Promotes teamwork Cares about team members Sets ground rules

Good Teams… Have coaches Set expectations Clarify roles

Conflict… Conflict resolution strategies:

Interpersonal skills Psychological safety

Good Teams… Deal with conflict, confront it Coaches create psychological

safety

Conditions… Supportive context

Good performance recognized & reinforced Access to resources Information needed available

Policies, procedures & incentives aligns Leadership sends “signals” that

teamwork matters

III.Ten Characteristics of Effective Teams…

Ten characteristics of effective teams…1. Clear roles & responsibilities

…have members who understand each others’ roles and how they fit together.

2. Compelling purpose – goal, vision …have a clear common purpose. …energized by their shared mission. …can evaluate current status in terms of a

destination.

Ten characteristics of effective teams…3. Team coach (leader) – promotes,

develops, reinforces …leaders that directly intervene to enact teamwork

processes. …have team members who believe the leaders care

about them. …provide situation updates. …set expectations. …self-correct first. …clarify roles. …solicit ideas and observations from team members. …seek out opportunities to reinforce effective

teamwork.

Ten characteristics of effective teams…4. Mutual trust – familiarity

…manage conflict well—team members confront each other effectively.

…have a strong sense of team orientation. …trust other team members’ “intentions”. …strongly believe in the team’s collective

capability to succeed. …develop collective efficacy.

Ten characteristics of effective teams…5. Team norms – clear, known &

appropriate …what is acceptable “around here”.

6. Shared understanding of task, mission & goals – hold shared mental models …have members who anticipate each other. …can coordinate without overt

communication.

Ten characteristics of effective teams…7. Self-correct – huddles, debriefs

…regularly provide feedback to each other, both individually and as a team (“de-brief”).

…establish and revise team goals and plans. …differentiate between higher and lower

priorities. …have mechanisms for anticipating and reviewing

issues/problems of members. …periodically diagnose team "effectiveness”,

including its results, its processes, and its vitality (morale, retention, energy).

Ten characteristics of effective teams…8. Set expectations – clear,

understood …Know who does what, when & why

9. Shared unique information – efficient information protocols …huddles, debriefs can help.

10. Organizational conditions – policies, procedures, signals

IV. Seven Pieces of Advice…

Some Advice… 1. Ensure all team members are trained

on team-based KSA’s…around six of the C’s… Team training ≠ Team building Information, demonstration, practice &

feedback, key elements Scenario carefully crafted Event-based approach

Some Advice… 2. Teach how to Debrief and Huddle!-

Simple, Powerful, & Underutilized What worked? What can be improved? Focus on as many C’s as possible. Debriefing works! (Tannenbaum, 2012)

25% Performance improvement

Some Advice… 3. Use Simulation!

Games, role plays Accelerates expertise Embedded instructional features

Some Advice…4. Develop team coaches…5. Measure & Reinforce teamwork!6. Ensure team is deployed appropriately…

…Kick-off meeting

7. For sustainability…create conditions needed… …continuous process …seek supervisory support …not an event, journey …CFO/CEO must see value, business case

V.Closing Remarks…

Closing Remarks… Use team science! Apply what we know! Data on what works, compelling!

How can we help?