Team Faultlines, Professional Stereotypes and Leadership in Interprofessional Teams

Abstract

Despite the calls for ensuring quality care via interprofessional teamwork, interprofessional teams do not necessarily fulfill its potential to perform effectively. This study focused on professional stereotypes emerging in interprofessional teams and examined the contingency effects of interprofessional team's faultlines, professional stereotypes and the leader's championship behaviors. The model was tested with a nested sample, consisting of 59 interprofessional teams working in geriatric facilities, and 5-7 residents that they cared for. Data collection employed a multi-source (interprofessional team members) multi-method (questionnaires and data from residents' medical files) strategy. The results indicated that faultlines are not harmful to team's quality of care, however rather they can mitigate team quality of care only when team stereotypes emerge. Furthermore, whereas teams typified by high professional stereotypes require a person-oriented type of championship leadership, for teams typified by low team stereotypes championship leadership harms team's quality-of-care. These findings carry implications for handling interprofessional teams.