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Team Coordination Training

Background

“[A TDI that] targets the improvement of a team’s shared mental model framework” (Shuffler et al., 2018, p. 19).

Team coordination training is a type of team training designed to improve a team's ability to coordinate their actions and work together effectively, focusing on skills and strategies that enhance coordination mechanisms.

Signs that a team could benefit from team coordination training include poor performance, a lack of synchronization, and difficulty managing knowledge and skills may benefit from team coordination training. Additionally, teams that struggle to adapt to novel situations and high workloads may also benefit.

  • 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

  • Gabelica, C., Van Den Bossche, P., Fiore, S. M., Segers, M., & Gijselaers, W. H. (2016). Establishing team knowledge coordination from a learning perspective. Human Performance, 29(1), 33–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2015.1120304
    • Gabelica et al. (2016) find that team learning behaviors and reflexivity, driven by task cohesion and group potency, foster knowledge coordination in teams. This knowledge coordination is then shown to be a key factor in predicting team performance in a complex task.
  • Gorman, J. C. (2014). Team coordination and dynamics: Two central issues. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(5), 355–360. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414545215
    • Gorman (2014) discusses whether coordination arises from individual knowledge or real-time interactions. He also examines the different levels of analysis at which team coordination effects are observed, highlighting the interplay between these levels.
  • Gorman, J. C., Cooke, N. J., Winner, J. L., Duran, J. L., Pedersen, H. K., & Taylor, A. R. (2007). Knowledge training versus process training: The effects of training protocol on team coordination and performance. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/154193120705100449
    • Gorman et al. (2007) assess team training methods for a simulated task. Their results indicate that perturbation training, which forces teams to coordinate in different ways, leads to higher team performance and adaptability, especially under high workload, compared to knowledge-based or rigid process training.