Working in teams is an essential aspect of working in any organization or professional structure and necessitates the knowledge of certain crucial principles and theories for optimal results and efficient outcomes. I have also had the experience of working with my team mates during the course of which the entire team gained practical knowledge about the manner in which teams function and the factors which could lead to successes and failures in teams. By applying the relevant literature to the building and development of teams and successful accomplishment of team tasks, this paper aims to analyse the importance of communication and team work in practical settings and the core tenets which determine the success and failures of teams.
A team is defined as union of two or more individuals who come together for a common purpose with specified common goals which are undertaken through active interaction and accomplishment of specified roles (Salas, et al., 2005). However, researchers have noted that members of teams require the additional ability to collaborate among themselves so that they can facilitate one another in the specified tasks through common knowledge and resources (Salas et al., 2005).
Irrespective of the settings in which teams function, it is necessary for them to work together effectively so that individual members of the team have a clear understanding of their duties and functions. Free flow of communication between team members facilitates trust among team members so that information can flow easily from one channel to another (Cannon-Bowers et al., 1995).
Collaborative working environments necessitate that team members understand common goals and coordinate with each other in accordance with the desired performance levels and projected outcomes. For instance, while working in healthcare settings like operation theatres, teams consisting of different individuals like surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, etc, work towards a common goal of ensuring the safety and success of the surgery or operation which is being conducted on the specific patient for a particular purpose. Studies pertaining to team psychology reveal that team performance is determined by mental models which could be task-related or team-related (Mathieu, Heffner, Goodwin, Salas, & Cannon-Bowers, 2000).
In case of task-related models, team members are required to have information regarding the materials which care needed for the successful accomplishment of the task at hand, while a team-related model would necessitate knowledge and understanding of team functioning and the expected behaviours which accompany such tasks (Salas et al., 2005). It can be affirmed that teams in healthcare settings would require both kinds of models since not only are professional required to have the necessary knowledge of the materials which are needed to fulfil the specified tasks, but also the knowledge of expected behaviours while undertaken team elated tasks such as patient diagnosis, surgeries and many others.
However, in order that team performance is effective and efficient, it is vital for teams to have “shared mental models” which enable the team members to move towards the achievement of a common goal through common action (Zaccaro et al., 2001). Shared model enable team members to engage in the necessary skills for effective team functioning including communication and collaboration, backup and mutual performance of all members of the team.
Researchers have confirmed that the failure of a shared mental model could result in the team members to head towards different goals which could ultimately lead to inefficient and unsuccessful behaviours because of the inability to gauge one another’s needs and actions and finally result in negative outcomes (Salas et al., 2005). Coordinated behaviour is extremely crucial for teams which function in stressful settings because with the increase in stress, there is reduction of communication in the event of which, team members ar4e required to depend highly upon implicit rather than explicit coordination (Orasanu and Salas, 1993).
Researchers who have conducted empirical investigations have found that when teams have shared mental models, they have accurate expectations of the requirements of team members, especially during successful periods (Salas, Cannon-Bowers and Johnston, 1997).
Thus it can be affirmed that communication is an important aspect of team effectiveness particularly during emergency situations when members need to rely heavily on shared mental models of communication. Communication is an important aspect of team work and is a deciding factor of positive or negative outcomes of team exercises and projects and failure to communicate effectively can hinder the team process.
References
Cannon-Bowers, J. A., Tannenbaum, S. I., Salas, E.,& Volpe, C. E. (1995). Defining competencies and establishing team training requirements. In R. A. Guzzo & E. Salas (Eds.), Team effectiveness and decision making in organizations (pp. 333-381). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mathieu, J. E., Heffner, T. S., Goodwin, G. F., Salas, E., & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (2000). The influence of shared mental models on team process and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 273-283.
Orasanu, J., & Salas, E. (1993). Team decision making in complex environments. In G. Klein, J. Orasanu, R. Calderwood, & C. Zsambok (Eds.), Decision making in action: Models and methods (pp. 327-345). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Salas, E., Cannon-Bowers, J. A., & Johnston, J. H. (1997). How can you turn a team of experts into an expert team?: Emerging training strategies. In C. Zsambok & G. Klein (Eds.), Naturalistic decision making (pp. 359-370). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Zaccaro, S. J., Rittman, A. L., & Marks, M. A. (2001). Team leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 12, 451-483.