Influence of teamwork on performance: individual experience from the medical field

Auuthor: Iloka Benneth Chiemelie

Published: 1/29/2014

Introduction 

The main purpose of this essay is to provide a critical discussion that focuses on understand teams and team working in the corporate sense. In the course of the analysis, a reflection and identification will be made on the learning needs and also presented in the essay. In order to conduct the reflection, Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1988) as illustrated in the appendix (i), will be adopted as the reflective framework from which the author will present a clear view of assignment role as a team member as well as the learning needs that have been developed from the performance of such roles, and the ultimate impact on patient care. It is also important to understand that while the Gibb’s reflective role model was chosen, there are other kinds of reflective role models such as the John’s (2000) and Roflfe (2001). In any case the Gibb’s model was chosen as a result of the fact that it is the most widely adopted reflective role in the field of healthcare and it also makes use of a quasi-problem solving technique, which makes its adoption very unique. In order to aid the clear understanding of the concept initiated in this context, the key terms will be defined and also elaborated on. The main objective of this is to demonstrated in the view of the author, a clear understanding of the main concepts that are associated with change management in the healthcare system, as well as a reflection on personal life, and the challenges associated with leadership and management. A conclusion which presents summary of the whole analysis will also be presented in the case.

Be it nationally or internationally, healthcare services have been undergoing an intensive change over the years as a result of the increase in technological advancement, and increase in social and economic issues. As such, there is the need to ensure that all managers in the system play needed roles in facilitating such changes within their organizational spheres (National Health Service 2013).

Understanding teams and team working

A number of factor influences the extent to which an organization can provide high quality healthcare and such factors include an effective team working towards the essence of a common goal as designed by the organization through the performance of their individual teams. Another factor that drives the need to work as a team member is the requirement defined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2008) as contained in the Code of Professional Conduct in which all nurses are required to work as a team members.

Most of the healthcare organizations build teams on the primary purpose of accomplishing designed tasks, and it can be established that the essence of working in teams is because of its capability to provide a distinctive level of competitive advantage (Baker et al 2006). Indications from research have shown that a strong team environment does bring with it a higher degree of competitive interaction between the individuals in the team, thus resulting in enhanced level of motivation and the development of a unique culture that is built on increased performance. Although working individually has been known to provide its own advantages such as the understanding that it reduces level of reliability on other people, remove the possibility of conflicts and increases the decision making process effectively, it is also important to understand that such approach can be a hindrance on the effective achievement of goals that have been set by the organization as a result of lack of collaboration, skill pool and expertise, and also creating an avenue for proactive and creative thinking in towards problem solving.

In most cases, bringing individuals together for the purpose of forming teams have been stated to increase the chances of achieving set goals in a more effective and efficient way than when these individual work alone. This is because it increases the sharing of ideas. Such an understanding has increased the emphasis on the need to understand and train people with appropriate teamwork skills.

Organizations are generally becoming dynamic and this brings along with it a higher degree of instability (Brenner et al., 2004; Burton et al., 2005, Campion, 1993, Centrále des Mettalurgisten de Belgique, 1997; Chouraqui et al., 1998; Cohen and Ledford, 1994; Curral and Chambel, 1999; Dacket et al., 2004). Such an evolution results in a greater reliance on teams and increased level of complexity in terms of how these teams are actually composed, the level of skills required and also the actual level of risk involved in the process.

Teamwork is a very important element in ay organization because it will increase the extent of reliability in that organization especially in the healthcare where reliability is the essence of the organizational process. The basic features of teams and strategies is to review team training and this must be given high degree of attention with the main objective of improving individual performance, team working and overall reliability.

Considering the fact that teams do come in different shapes and sizes, as well as face different kinds of challenges, it is increasingly difficult to find one definition of a team (Markiewicz and West 2011), but this pragmatic approach doesn’t eliminate eh suggestion that a team is a group of people who have clearly shared objectives and working together with the main aim of achieving these objectives (Markiewicz and West 2011). It can be seen that such definition provides a higher degree of congruence with the healthcare settings. In any case, it should be noted that the definition of a group id however in contract with the definition of a team because a group represents collection of individuals that coordinate their individual efforts (Jelps and Dickinson 2008). The differences between the definition of teams have also been compared and contrasted in many cases, and team has been defined by Belbin  (1994) as being more tan just a group of people with job titles, but instead is ore about gathering individuals together in such a way that each person has specific role to play and such roles are designed for the purpose of achieving coming goals as well as understood by other members of the team.

Members of a team normally seek out different roles but they always focus on performing those that are more effective that also do come naturally to them. Thus, this motion of teams applies best for those in health and social care setting because it draws together their level of expertise and competence.

In accordance with Belbin (1994) it is mandated of team members to take specific actions in the team is the team is to effectively function. The identification of team role is required for team members in order to ensure that they are contributing fully as expected for the purpose of the team’s growth. Making use of Belbin’s team ole inventory can aid teams to define the roles of their members and on that ground promote efficacy in the team. The Belbin’s team role model is illsurated in appendix (ii). Notwithstanding that the team role model was developed by Belbin back in 1994, it is still an important management tool in the modern business settings (Mullins, 2013).

Although it has been acknowledged that the use of team role inventories such as those developed by Belbin (1994) can effectively increase the efficiency of team work, it si important to note that such models should be used with caution. This is because there might be chances of stereotype and labeling people once they have been assigned role descriptors. There is also the potentiality of the inventory to try and take complex matters (such as role) and over simplify these matters, leading to further chances of higher complexity developing later. Additionally, the validity and reliability of the tools also mean a big issue and should be considered in the process. The basic advantage of such tool is reflected on the understanding that it at least tries to objectify things that can seem to be subjective in nature.

In any case, the author still performed self-assessment by adopting the Belbin’s (1994) inventory in order to determine performed role in the tea with the main of using the findings from such analysis to reflect on individual contribution as a team member. The outcome of the analysis shows that the author is more of a plant (as illustrated in appendix ii).

On the other hand, team work has been defined by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) (2013) as a form of work practice that is based on the use of teams (limited in numbers of people), in which the team share common objective and corporate together, on a permanent or temporary basis, for the purpose of achieving those objectives that will provide individuals with the power to make distinctive contributions.

The increase in technology adoption and other social vices has resulted in a subsequent increase on the importance of teamwork in the healthcare settings, with the focus being on finding ways that people can work together for the purpose of increasing reliability in the system (Mullins, 2013; Gopee and Gallaway 2008). The adoption of team work inventory also provides workers with a clear view of the role they are expected to play (Mullins, 2013). In the course of selecting potential members of a team, the focus should be on those that have high potentials for increased productivity and also desire to grow and develop within the team (Constructing Excellence 2004).

Change management

This is a structured approached adopted in the organizational setting for the purpose of ensuring that change are thoroughly and smoothly implemented and that the benefits gained from such changes can be made sustainable (Illes 2005). The understanding presented in the definition is that any change process being made must be structured, and the plan must be developed in such a way that the change can be sustained. However, considering the rate that changes take place in the healthcare settings, issues might arise with respect to the processes involved and associated challenges.

Irrespective of the settings however, change management is an important and kind of inevitable element that exist in modern healthcare settings (Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence and World Health Organization 2010). The effective management of change calls on the need for understanding how complex the change concept is, and it should also  be understood that change management is not just a task to be neglected in the process or considered finished, instead it is a continuous process and must be managed with every new issue that arises, implemented swiftly and evaluated as time goes on in order to ensure successful outcome in the end (Illes 2005).

Reflective practice

Reflective practice is an important process with the potential of enabling people to gain better understanding of themselves, their skills, knowledge and practice. Thus, conducting a reflection on an activity either before or after such activity can aid the understanding and evaluation of experience gained from such activities (Schön, 1995). The main objective is to identify what has been learned in the process, in order to define new or better approaches for future practices, or to understand when the activity was best practiced. In the event of working as a team member, reflection has the power of helping individuals to make more effective contributions towards the team’s productivity.

Different incidents and experiences brings about learning from our individual or professional live (Moon, 2004; Boud et al, 1994). On that ground, conscious reflections that are based on a systematic approach helps human beings to understand about themselves, and other people around them such as the members of a team, they work they perform, the organization they work in and the professional practices undertaken, together with their own abilities and skills, as well as strengths and weaknesses in the course of undertaking such professional practices.

Personal reflect

In this section of the paper, the author will present a personal reflection based on personal working experience in a team and the outcome of such experience on the authors’ overall self-change management process.

Description

From personal performance in the team, I am more of a plant, but I tend to be protective of certain information and not too open to communication  (which is an allowed weakness according to Belbin, 1994).

Feelings

I am very much aware that I am not too open to sharing information but I was not aware that my team members have noticed such and in that case take it to be very negative of me and they would enjoy more of open conservation in which everybody is carried along in the team. I felts the need for the team to have communicate such with me instead of having it in their mind and using it against me without a clear indication of what I should do to change or how I can better suite my attitudes for the overall growth of the team.

Evaluation

Upon realizing that my attitude towards sharing information is having some negative impact on the teams perception of my overall personality, I deemed it right and necessary to think about my contribution to the team and how my attitude can be adjusted in order to ensure that the adverse impact on my team functions are eliminated (as suggested by Mullins, 2013). In accordance with Hogan and Hogan (2001), personally can be of high impact on the performance of teams, and can also damage motivation of team members and create a sort of imbalance in the motivating forces when it comes to team performance (Maslow 1954 and Alderfer 1969). Thus, such an understanding made me feel very uncomfortable as I began to understand that other members of the team have feelings too and desire access to the ideas have I have for the continued growth of the team.

Analysis

From an analytical point of view, it should be noted that my actions are because of my desires to ensure that information passed to my fellow team members are correct because I am deeply worried about passing information that can produce negative results. I also don’t want to be blamed by the team members for their overall performance as a result of the information I shared with them. The approach adopted is also reflected in the team role defined by Belbin (1994). In terms of understanding my role as a plant in the team, literatures have been helpful by providing me with the opportunity of gaining an understanding on the dynamism involved in any given team (West and Markiewicz 2004). It has also been pointed out by Jelps and Dickson (2008) that working in a team means that all members of the team will have to developed some level of self-awareness skills and also posses the ability to communicate openly and effectively for the sole purpose of meeting the sensitive needs of all people in the team. Discussions by West et al (2004) is also a reflection of the importance of teams to take out time in due course to reflect on their overall objectives, processes and outcomes, mark out necessary plans for needed changes, implement these plans, and the draw a reflective conclusion on the way forward.

Action plan

The need to have an action plan is based on the understanding presented by West et al (2004) that team members should always take out necessary time to reflect on their actions and impact on the success of the team. Such an understanding has been described as important in the course of developing a more effective approach towards team’s performance (King, 2011).Connor and Pakora (2007) also noted that coaching towards personal change will influence the overall performance of the individual positively and increase the chances of desired positive outcome being effectively achieved. On the ground of such understanding, I will be more open to my group member for the course of meeting set objectives and become more communicative as well as willing to share ideas together. In order to avoid blames on failed ideas, I will also communicate the pros and cons of any idea shared, highlighting the need for the team to be very cautious when implementing such ideas and also create second-base plans for covering up failures in the future.

Conclusion

Team work is without a doubt a necessity in the modern organization. This is because the above analysis has demonstrated that the importance of team work by reflecting on the modern organizational setting as a system that is filled with new vibes of does and don’t, which managers need to communicate through the corporate system to ensure uniformity. However, the increasing level of globalization and technology adoption now means that people from different aspects and culture are forced to work together either in the physical state or virtually (.Brenner et al., 2004) Thus, it becomes a necessity for the managers to adopt a team based viewed where everybody work together as partners for the purpose of achieving set corporate objectives. In any case, the disadvantage of such is that the overall performance of the team is directly influenced by the individual performance of members in the team. Thus, for the team to grow, the members must be willing to grow as well. The above analysis shows that the author is very reluctant when it comes to sharing information in the team and not always open to conversation. This is very negative because it reduces the level of information flow, and limiting access to information that members might use to influences their overall performance positively for the actual growth of the team as a whole. However, the author now understand this weakness based on the analysis conducted and is now willing to adjust towards the growth of the team by becoming more open to information sharing and welcoming with conversations that reflect on the overall performance of the team.

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Appendices

Appendix (i) Gibb’s Reflective Cycle (Source: Gibbs 1988)

Role	Strengths	Allowable Weaknesses
Plant	Creative, imaginative, free-thinking. Generates ideas and solves difficult problems.	Ignores incidentals. Too preoccupied to communicate effectively
Resource investigator	Outgoing, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities and develops contacts.	Over-optimistic. Loses interest once initial enthusiasm has passed
Coordinator	Mature, confident, identifies talent. Clarifies goals. Delegates effectively.	Can be seen as manipulative. Offloads own share of work
Shaper	Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.	Prone to provocation. Offends people's feelings.
Monitor evaluator	Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately.	Lacks drive and ability to inspire others. Can be overly critical.
Team worker	Co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens and averts friction.	Indecisive in crunch situations. Avoids confrontation
Implementer	Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas into actions and organises work that needs to be done.	Somewhat inflexible. Slow to respond to new possibilities.
Completer finisher	Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors. Polishes and perfects.	Inclined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate.
Specialist	Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply.	Contributes only on a narrow front. Dwells on technicalities