The Wisdom of Collectives: 20 Years of Research and Progress

Eduardo Salas, Ph.D.Department of Psychology&Institute for Simulation & TrainingUniversity of Central Floridaesalas@ist.ucf.edu

Take Away Messages… We have a science of team performance

& team training…LEARN ABOUT IT! We have a set of tips, guidelines and

principles for enhancing teamwork & team leadership…USE & APPLY THEM!

We know that teamwork & team leadership promotes organizational effectiveness…WHEN MANAGED APPROPRIATELY.

TRY IT & IT HELPS ORGANIZATIONS!

Outline of Presentation Why are collectives still important in

organizations? Why do we still conduct research?

What is the state of the science? What progress have we made? What do we know about team performance? What can de done to foster effective team

performance? Tips

Conclusions

Some Definitions Teams…

Task interdependence Distributed expertise and roles Hierarchically Organized Common goal

Collectives Crews, groups, teams, units, and

networks

Why the Importance of Collectives? The Military…

Persian Gulf incidents; Iraq; Afghanistan; Kosovo

Over $120 million and 50 years of investment in R & D All services

Focus on: Command and control Distributed and expert decision making Team performance and training Crew, groups, teams and units

Some success…Data Encouraging! (Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 1998)

Why the Importance of Collectives?

The Aviation Community… 60-80% of mishaps and accidents 20 year investment in teamwork and safety

Crew resource management (5 generations) Threat and error management

Focus on: Flight deck (and beyond) Communication, teamwork and decision

making Minimize errors; safety Implementing CRM training

Commercial Military (active and reserve)

Some success…Data Encouraging! (Salas et al., 2001)

Why the Importance of Collectives? Corporate America…

Keep competitive advantage Movement toward team-based

systems 80% of individuals report belonging

organizational teams (Fiore et al., 2001)

Believe teams are better than individuals

Jobs are more complex, difficult and dynamic

Unknown success (Sundstrom, 1999)

Why the Importance of Collectives? The Medical Community…

Human error 8th leading cause of deaths

Programs should "establish interdisciplinary team training programs, such as simulation, that incorporate proven methods for team management." (IOM, 1999, p. 135)

Beginning to invest DoD TRICARE

Teamwork in OR, ICU and ER Education & Training

Why the Importance of Collectives? The Emergency Management

Community… 9/11 tragedy Focus on:

“Teams of Teams” Communication, coordination, and

synchronization Crisis management Multi-agency culture clashes Performance and decision making

under stress

Why the Importance of Collectives? High Reliability Organizations…

Nuclear power plants NASA’s Mission Management

Team (Space Shuttle program) Health care systems Focus on:

Situation awareness (individual and team)

Vigilance Redundancy of systems “Creating a safety culture” “Creating a learning culture”

Why the Importance of Collectives? The Sports World…

Coaches Collegiate and professional

Focus on: Motivation Composition Rewards Personalities (egos) Team building and development “Creating theories of teamwork”

Why Research Continues? Despite the interest, importance,

investment and research… Teamwork, team performance,

collaboration, cooperation… Very elusive; difficult to manage & compose

teams “We want, need and value”

What is it? How do we get it? How do we develop it? What do we know already?

What is the State of Science?

How Do We Turn a Team of Experts into an Expert Team?

What is the State of the Science? Theoretically-driven

“Nothing more practical then a good theory.” (Lewin, 1951).

Studying real teams; performing real tasks “Teams in the Wild” Simulations

Experts as participants

What is the State of the Science? Complex environments

Time pressure Severe consequences for error Ill-defined problems No right answer (sometimes) Information overload

What is the State of the Science? From the board room to the floor

shop From the flight deck to the ground

support teams Thousands of teams!

What Comprises Team Performance?

Team Performance

Cognitions

Knowledge

“Think”

Behaviors

Skills

“Do”

Attitudes

Affect

“Feel”

Knowledge Requirements in Teams Shared Task Models; Cue/Strategy

Associations; Situation Assessment Teammate Characteristics;

Familiarity Knowledge of Team Mission;

Objectives; Norms; Resources Roles and expectations Individual-task proficiency

Skill Requirements in Teams Mutual performance monitoring Supporting/Back-up behavior Adaptability Team leadership Task-related assertiveness Conflict resolution Closed-loop communication

Attitude Requirements in Teams Collective efficacy Shared vision Team cohesion Mutual trust Collective/team orientation Value of teamwork

The “Big 5” Teamwork Dimensions

Mutual Trust

Shared Mental Models

Closed LoopCommunication

Team Leadership

Team Orientation

Mutual Performance Monitoring

Back-UpBehavior

Adaptability

THE CORE

The Wisdom of Collectives

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best! They hold shared mental models

…have members who anticipate each other. …can coordinate without the need to

communicate overtly. …know when explicit communication is best …know where to look for expertise….position

≠ expertise.

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best! They optimize resources

…are self correcting. …compensate for each other. …reallocate functions. …learn from each task cycle

They have clear roles and responsibilities …manage expectations …have members who understand each

others’ roles and how they fit together. …ensure team member roles are clear but not

overly rigid.

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best! They have a clear, valued and shared

vision …have a clear common purpose. …have an engaging purpose …have a leader who promotes this vision at

the appropriate level of detail.

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best! They have strong team leadership

…are led by someone with good leadership skills and not just technical competence.

…have team members who believe the leaders cares about them.

…provides situation updates. …fosters teamwork, coordination and

cooperation …self-correct first …models the behaviors he/she desires

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best! They have strong team leadership

(con’t) …flexible in communication style …creates an enabling performance

environment …knows when to intervene (in terms of

task cycle) …spends time on both task and

developmental leadership actions …promotes shared leadership functions

depending on ability and situation

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best!

They engage in a cycle (a discipline) of: …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).

Performance

Debrief

Pre-brief

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best! They develop a strong sense of

“collective”—trust, teamness, confidence …manage conflict well-team members

confront each other effectively. …have a strong sense of team orientation. …trust other team members’ “intentions”. …strongly believe in the team’s collective

ability to succeed. …develop collective efficacy. …have a high degree of psychological safety

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best! They create mechanisms to cooperate

(motivation) and coordinate (interaction). …identify teamwork and task work requirements. …ensure that, through staffing and/or

development, the team possesses the right mix of competencies.

…consciously integrate new team members. …distribute and assign work thoughtfully. …examine and adjust the team’s physical

workplace to optimize communication and coordination.

The Wisdom of Collectives…What They Do Best! They manage and optimize

performance outcomes …communicate often "enough”. Ensure

that fellow team members have the information they need to be able to contribute.

…use closed-loop communication. …learn from each performance

outcome. …continually strive to learn.

How Do You Promote Team Effectiveness? Compose the team membership-

selection Modify team tasks, workflow, structure Enhance individual team member

capabilities Build team competencies (KSAs)

Team training Improve team interactions/processes

Change Team Membership (Selection/Staffing)

Select team members for needed competencies Personality tests Simulations Situational judgment

tests (SJT’s)

Change Team Membership (Selection/Staffing) (con’t.)

Select team leaders Simulations SJT’s AC’s

Scoreable structured interviews

Not much research!

Change Team Membership (Selection/Staffing) Tips:

Use behavioral-based interviews Select for collective-oriented & adaptive

members Triangulate assessment with a

multimethod approach Conscientiousness is important for

routine performance. Openness to experience is important for

adaptive performance. Can Train!!

Build Individual Team Member Capabilities Individual taskwork

training Tips:

Ensure team members know their job

Provide detailed, timely and diagnostic feedback

Ensure members know how their jobs intersects with team members

Build Individual Team Member Capabilities

Goal setting/performance management Tips:

Set performance goals that are hard, challenging and achievable

Set goals at the team-level as well as individual-level Provide feedback on goals Set learning goals early in development, performance goals

later

On the job training Tips:

Guide the instruction…use learning outcomes Show task interdependencies Provide diagnostic (detailed) feedback…use checklists Highlight the coordination demands

Build Individual Team Member Capabilities Coaching/mentoring

Tips: Focus on team effort (motivation) Help develop performance strategies Increase knowledge and skill competencies Coaching functions will vary thru the team

task-cycle Address team processes (moment-to-

moment behaviors and actions)

Build Individual Team Member Capabilities Team leader training

Tips: Train team leaders to…

Set expectations Clarify roles Provide situation updates

Team leaders must… …initiate self-correction …solicit ideas and observations from team members …seek out opportunities to reinforce effective

teamwork …request/accept feedback on own performance

Build Individual Team Member Capabilities Team leader training

Tips (cont): Team leaders must…

…provide behavior-oriented rather than person-oriented feedback

...provide specific solution-oriented feedback …re-state others’ feedback to make it constructive …voice satisfaction when improvements are noted

Modify Team Tasks, Workflow Structure Team design/re-design (organization,

structure) Tips: Ask…

Who does what? Who talks to whom? Who owns what and who knows what? What it takes to complete?

Task re-design Tips: Ask…

Who is responsible for what? Be careful…

Improve Team Interaction/ Processes Team building

Role clarification Who does what with

whom?

Facilitated process analysis Self correction “Replay at the bar”

Team pre-brief/de-brief interventions Set expectations

Build Teamwork Competencies (Team Training) Team training ≠ team building

Team training = skill based Team building = role clarification

Strategies Cross-training (e.g. positional rotation, position

clarification training) Scenario-based training Team coordination training/CRM Meta-cognition training Team self-correction Stress exposure Assertiveness Cultural training

Team Training (TT) Tips:

TT should… …focus on teamwork, not taskwork …be based on competency requirements …be more then just “feel good” …include a context to practice, assist,

diagnose, and learn …be realistic, sub-relevant …focus on team-based learning outcomes …be on going

Teamwork Training Works! Compared with current training, enhanced

training resulted in (see Cannon-Bowers & Salas,

1998): 45% Improvement in Mission Performance 33% Improvement in Tactical Decision Making

Performance 25% Improvement in Communication Efficiency 10-34% Improvement in Team Coordination

In the aviation environment (Salas et al., 1999)

6-20% Improvement in Teamwork Behaviors

Team-Based Organizations Show… …High levels of productivity (e.g., Cohen &

Ledford, 1994) 89% of studies using self-managing teams

report increased productivity (Pasmore et al., 1982)

…Quality (e.g., Applebaum & Batt, 1994)

…Safety (e.g., Goodman et al., 1988; Trist et al., 1977)

…Job satisfaction (e.g., Cordery, Mueller, & Smith, 1991)

…Organizational commitment (e.g., Kirkman & Rosen, 1999)

…Financial performance 8.7% increase in the probability of having

financial performance considerably better than the industry average (DeVaro, 2004)

The Organization… Tips:

Create a climate to foster teamwork Organizations get the behaviors that

they measure and reinforce! Provide opportunities to practice

teamwork skills

Conclusions 20 Years of Progress! There is a science! Useful, practical and validated tools,

strategies and principles exist! Don’t try this at home!

Research SponsorsThe views, opinions, and/or findings contained in this presentation are those of the author and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy, or decision.  This work was supported by funding from the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (Contract #W74V8H-04-C-0025) (COTR: Gerald Goodwin).

Thank you