Slide 1

The Science of Teamwork: What Matters in Practice Eduardo Salas, Ph.D. Department of Psychology & Institute of Simulation & Training University of Central Florida esalas@ist.ucf.edu

Slide 2

Outline Today I. Who cares about teamwork? II. What matters in teamwork? I. The 7 Cs III. What do effective teams do? I. Top ten list II. Leaders behaviors IV. What can you do to enhance teamwork? I. 7 pieces of advice V. Closing remarks.

Slide 3

I. Who cares about teamwork?

Slide 4

Who Cares about Teams?

Slide 5

Slide 6

Slide 7

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 Instances of Failures of Teamwork

Slide 8

Miracle on the Hudson And some successes Response to Fargo flooding

Slide 9

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

Slide 10

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

Slide 11

II. What Matters in Teamwork?

Slide 12

What is the State of the Science? How Do We Turn a Team of Experts into an Expert Team?

Slide 13

What is the State of the Science? Theoretically-driven (170+ models!) Nothing more practical than a good theory. Its a multi-disciplinary field Explosion of empirical work! Studying real teams; performing real tasks Teams in the Wild Simulations Experts as participants

Slide 14

What is the State of the Science? Hundreds of teams! Aviation Healthcare Military Corporate world Teams defined Task interdependency Distributed expertise Hierarchical organized

Slide 15

Cooperation Motivational Drivers Communication Information Protocols Cognition Common Understanding Coaching Leadership Activities Conflict Conflict Resolution Procedures Coordination Behavioral Mechanism TEAMWORK Conditions Norms & Support

Slide 16

Cooperation Attitudes & Beliefs: Team Orientation Collective Efficacy Mutual Trust Openness to Experience Good Teams Develop collective efficacy Have strong team orientation

Slide 17

Coordination Behavioral Mechanisms: Mutual Performance Monitoring Back-up Behavior/Supportive Adaptability/ Flexibility Good Teams Self-correct Employ huddle, debriefs

Slide 18

Communication Information exchange protocols: Close-loop communication Precise, Timely, Clarity Appropriate terminology Good Teams Share unique information

Slide 19

Cognition Shared understanding: Roles & Responsibilities Knowledge of team mission; Objectives, Norms, & Resources Familiarity with Teammates Good Teams Have clear roles Team norms are clear

Slide 20

Coaching Leadership: Team Leadership Promotes teamwork Cares about team members Sets ground rules Good Teams Have coaches Set expectations Clarify roles

Slide 21

Conflict Conflict resolution strategies: Interpersonal skills Psychological safety Good Teams Deal with conflict, confront it Coaches create psychological safety

Slide 22

Conditions Supportive context Good performance recognized & reinforced Access to resources Information needed available Policies, procedures & incentives aligns Leadership sends signals that teamwork matters

Slide 23

III. Ten Characteristics of Effective Teams

Slide 24

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.

Slide 25

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.

Slide 26

Ten characteristics of effective teams 4. Mutual trust familiarity manage conflict wellteam members confront each other effectively. have a strong sense of team orientation. trust other team members intentions. strongly believe in the teams collective capability to succeed. develop collective efficacy.

Slide 27

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.

Slide 28

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).

Slide 29

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

Slide 30

IV. Seven Pieces of Advice

Slide 31

Some Advice 1. Ensure all team members are trained on team-based KSAsaround six of the Cs Team training Team building Information, demonstration, practice & feedback, key elements Scenario carefully crafted Event-based approach

Slide 32

Some Advice 2. Teach how to Debrief and Huddle!- Simple, Powerful, & Underutilized What worked? What can be improved? Focus on as many Cs as possible. Debriefing works! (Tannenbaum, 2012) 25% Performance improvement

Slide 33

Some Advice 3. Use Simulation! Games, role plays Accelerates expertise Embedded instructional features

Slide 34

Some Advice 4. Develop team coaches 5. Measure & Reinforce teamwork! 6. Ensure team is deployed appropriately Kick-off meeting 7. For sustainabilitycreate conditions needed continuous process seek supervisory support not an event, journey CFO/CEO must see value, business case

Slide 35

V. Closing Remarks

Slide 36

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

Slide 37

Slide 38

How can we help?