Team Building

Background

“An intervention designed to foster improvement within a team, providing individuals closely involved with the task with the strategies and information needed to solve their own problems… [through] (a) goal setting, (b) interpersonal-relationship management, (c) role clarification, and (d) problem solving” (Lacerenza et al., 2018, p. 523).

Tbeam building is a general term for interventions that empower team members with strategies and insights to address their own challenges. Team building differs from team training. Team building focuses on strengthening relationships, communication, and trust among team members to create a more cohesive unit. In contrast, team training develops specific skills and knowledge needed to improve performance and productivity.

Signs that indicate a team might benefit from a team-building intervention include unclear goals, norms, or roles, inadequate communication, or a lack of shared leadership. Other signs include low staff satisfaction, high turnover, increased errors, and poor conflict resolution skills.

• Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Salas, E. (2018). Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork. American Psychologist, 73(4), 517–531. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/amp0000295

Relevant Readings

• Clark, P. R. (2009). Teamwork: Building healthier workplaces and providing safer patient care. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 32(3), 221–231. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNQ.0b013e3181ab923f
  • Clark (2009) provides overviews of team-building programs, gives examples of training research programs, and recommends formal teamwork training to improve workplace health and safety.

• Hope, J. M., Lugassy, D., Meyer, R., Jeanty, F., Myers, S., Jones, S., Bradley, J., Mitchell, R., & Cramer, E. (2005). Bringing interdisciplinary and multicultural team building to health care education: The downstate team-building initiative. Academic Medicine, 80(1), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200501000-00020
  • Hope et al. (2005) evaluate the impact of the Downstate Team-Building Initiative (DTBI), a multicultural and interdisciplinary health care team-building program for health professions students.
• Wheeler, D., & Stoller, J. K. (2011). Teamwork,teambuilding and leadership in respiratory and health care. Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy, 47(1), 6-11.
  • Wheeler and Stoller (2011) review evidence that good teamwork is associated with superior clinical outcomes, strategies for building teams, competencies of effective healthcare leaders, and programs for developing competencies.