Team Learning and Development

Ford, J. K. (2021). Learning in organizations: An evidence-based approach. Routledge.

Team, learning and development:

Team, Learning, and Development:

• Team Adoption:

  • Organizations adopt team-based work systems for increased interconnectedness and effective problem-solving.

  • Teams can be permanent or project-based, addressing organizational needs.

• Challenges for Teams:

  • Information processing, decision-making demands, and rapid response to changing conditions are key challenges.

  • Team effectiveness is influenced by knowledge, skills, and attitude.

• Nature of Teams:

  • Teams involve job and task interdependencies with different roles but a common purpose.

  • Four dimensions: interdependence, shared objectives, reflexivity, boundedness.

• Effective Teams - Three Factors:

  • Taskwork Skills: Members are technically skilled with interdependencies.

  • Teamwork Competencies: Interaction among members, attitude-based teamwork, and skill-based teamwork.

  • Mutual Performance Monitoring: Monitoring actions, providing timely feedback, emphasizing shared leadership.

• Situational Awareness and Transactive Memory Systems:

  • Situational Awareness: Knowledge depth in team members for perceiving and interpreting situations.

  • Transactive Memory Systems: Shared mental models enhancing coordination and problem-solving.

• Affective Teams and Process Improvement:

  • Develop procedures for process improvement, focusing on problem-solving skills.

• Targeted Team Development:

  • Develop competencies in taskwork, teamwork, and process improvement for day-to-day effectiveness.

• Team Training Programs:

  • Improve cognitive transfer and skill-based transfer for higher teamwork behaviors and performance.

  • Includes team coordination, cross-training, and crafting-combination training.

• Craft-Combination Training:

  • Positions clarify tasks for minimal interdependence; rotation for more independence.

  • Cross-training builds proficiency and flexibility.

• Team Resource Management Training:

  • Builds skills for effective interaction, teamwork, and error avoidance in teams.

  • STAR (Stop Think Act Review) approach to avoid errors.

• Team-Oriented Medical Simulation (TOMS):

  • Focuses on teamwork concepts, pre-planning, simulated surgery, and post-surgery review.

• Team Building Training:

  • Enhances social relationships, builds trust, and clarifies roles for effective team processes.

• Multi-Agency Training:

  • Coordinates efforts between agencies for multi-team and multi-organization cooperation.

  • Uses scenario-based interventions, teaching modules, and formal debriefing.

• Multiplayer Interactive Serious Games:

  • Promotes deep learning through a safe environment, scenario presentation, and interactivity.

• Team Learning Activities:

  • Action Learning: Solving real-life problems, generating solutions, and implementing them.

  • Team Debrief: Post-action review for critiquing performance and guiding future actions.

• Pre-Brief and Coaching:

  • Pre-Brief: Set goals, clarify roles, and discuss potential problems before an action.

  • Coaching: Effective coaches provide feedback, model behavior, and set challenging goals.

• Team Self-Management and Adaptation:

  • As teams become more competent, they can manage internal processes and monitor their own learning.

• Learning from Other Teams:

  • Observe, copy, and discuss lessons from other teams for adaptation.

  • Team reflexivity focuses on examining and improving overall team functioning.

• Reflexivity Intervention:

  • Teams reflect on performance, strategies, and adaptation to meet current and anticipated circumstances.

  • Typical intervention involves discussing strategies, developing improvement plans, and being adaptable.

• Nature of Teams Changing:

  • More fluid membership, technology use, geographic dispersion, and increased diversity.

  • Interventions support knowledge and skills and promote wellness in teams.

• Best Practice Guidelines:

  • Ensure team members have adequate task knowledge before emphasizing teamwork.

  • Use positional clarification for low interdependence teams.

  • Design team resource management training for skills like threat recognition and problem-solving.

  • Clearly identify team-building objectives and activities.

  • Incorporate the five elements of collective impact into multi-agency collaboration.

  • Conduct debriefs for self-discovery and future direction.

  • Train leaders in holding structured debriefs and setting expectations.