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Team Composition

Background

"The process of selecting, excluding, or removing individuals for a team based on individual  member attributes relevant to and necessary for team effectiveness" (Shuffler et al., 2018, p. 51).

Team composition refers to the collection of individual-level factors, including KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) that are essential for team success.

Signs that indicate a team might benefit from a team composition intervention include negative mood, low confidence, poor cooperation, lack of self-regulation, weak cohesion, insufficient shared cognition, and/or difficulty managing diversity challenges. These issues can manifest as conflicts, missed deadlines, poor quality work, and low morale, suggesting a need to examine and potentially adjust the team's composition.

  • Shuffler, M. L., DiazGranados, D., Salas, E., & Coutu, D. L. (2018). Developing, sustaining, and maximizing team effectiveness—An integrative, dynamic perspective of team development interventions. Academy of Management Annals, 12(2), 688–724. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0045

Relevant Readings

  • Bell, S. T., Brown, S. G., Colaneri, A., & Outland, N. (2018). Team composition and the ABCs of teamwork. American Psychologist, 73(4), 349–362. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000305
    • Bell, Brown, Colaneri, and Outland (2018) describe what is known about team composition and its influence on the ABCs of teamwork (affective states, behavioral processes, and cognitive states). They also outline important directions for future research.
  • Higgs, M., Plewnia, U., & Ploch, J. (2005). Influence of team composition and task complexity on team performance. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 11(7/8), 227–250. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527590510635134
    • Higgs, Plewnia, and Ploch (2005) explore the relationship between team diversity and task complexity regarding the impact on performance. Task complexity is assessed through a questionnaire completed by team members, and performance is assessed using a questionnaire completed by the manager to whom the team reports.
  • Mathieu, J. E., Tannenbaum, S. I., Donsbach, J. S., & Alliger, G. M. (2014). A review and integration of team composition models: Moving toward a dynamic and temporal framework. Journal of Management, 40(1), 130–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313503014
    • Mathieu, Tannenbaum, Donsbach, and Alliger (2013) synthesize previous work on team composition with an integrative framework and optimization algorithm. They categorize team composition models into four types: traditional personnel-position fit model, personnel model with teamwork considerations, relative contribution model, and team profile model.