Team Processes Research Articles

A Qualitative Exploration of Turkish Operating Room Nurses’ Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundApart from the patients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was extremely important to apply appropriate protective measures by minimizing the possibility of infection to patients in need of surgery, to provide personal protective equipment for the safety of the staff in the operating room and to take isolation measures for cases where COVID-19 was suspected. The purpose of this phenomenologically designed multi center study was to examine the experiences of operating room nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsIn depth semi-structured interviews for an average 45 to 60 minutes were conducted with 14 operating room nurses. Data analysis was performed using MAXQDA 20 software, and the descriptive and relational analysis method was used. A total of 330 primitive code were obtained. ResultsAs a result of data analysis, 6 subcodes, 32 codes, 17 categories and three themes were defined. The themes were defined: (a) categories of the theme of psycho-social dilemma: feelings about the pandemic, feelings about the test result, and feelings regarding case management, (b) categories of the theme of management of corporate risk perception: precautions, closure to the recovery unit, patient admission process, team and environment preparation process, team-patient relations, surgery process, post-operation process and training and (c) categories of the theme of process challenges: difficulty of working conditions, ignorance, appropriations/ payment injustice, loss of time, increased workload and lack of protective equipment. ConclusionWe determined that the participants had extensive experience. The results showed it is important to provide adequate equipment, to provide training, to eliminate the appropriations/ payment injustice and to provide psychosocial support to the operating room nurses during the global epidemic.

Accounting for an individual approach to training of athletes in playing sports (on the example of basketball, volleyball and futsal)

The article is devoted to the study of ways to optimize the training process for student basketball, volleyball and futsal teams, taking into account the individual biorhythmic properties of female athletes. The study determines the importance of individualizing training and preparation, in particular, taking into account circadian rhythms and other biorhythmic aspects that determine physiological and psychological changes in female athletes during the day. The tasks of the study included testing the biological rhythms of female athletes to improve the training process. 36 sportswomen (14 basketball players, 12 volleyball players, 10 soccer players) of the teams of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine took part in the study. The analysis of the biological rhythms of female athletes included various indicators that help to understand their physiological reactions and determine the optimal schedule of training and rest. Among them were taken: heart rate, rhythmic changes in body temperature (measurement of body temperature during the day to determine the circadian rhythm of heat exchange), rhythmic changes in blood pressure (observation of changes in blood pressure during the day to determine the circadian rhythm of cardiovascular activity), indicators of activity and sleep (determination of activity and sleep mode, including time of awakening, time of falling asleep and duration of sleep), hand strength (hand dynamometry), standing long jump. The article examines the results of the study, which include an analysis of the optimal time for training, fatigue and recovery management, adaptation of training programs to biorhythms, and the impact on psychological readiness. The conclusions drawn indicate that an individual approach to training, based on biorhythmic properties and psychomotor qualities, can improve the performance of sportswomen in the aforementioned teams. This article is aimed at coaches, scientists and physical training specialists interested in innovative methods of training female athletes aimed at taking into account their individual biorhythms to achieve optimal results in basketball, volleyball and futsal.

Team Membership Change Events: Processes That Support Gender Diverse Teams

Recent global events have triggered compositional changes in the workplace (e.g., intentional diversification and sudden team member removal). This study investigates whether team gender diversity and the novelty of membership changes moderate the relationship between team processes and performance. We found that development of team confidence plays a pivotal role in shaping performance through its influence on backup behavior. Moreover, gender-balanced teams were better at translating their confidence into backup behaviors, and teams experiencing reduced novelty during membership change events tend to leverage these behaviors more effectively, leading to enhanced overall performance. We explored several theoretical and practical implications.

Leader affective presence, psychological safety and team proactive problem prevention

AbstractLeader affective presence, the tendency of leaders to consistently evoke feelings in team members, has gained prominence in the context of leadership and teamwork. However, prior research lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework, focuses on limited team processes, and relies mainly on cross sectional designs to study this construct. Building upon theories of the social functions of affect, this study examines the relationship between leaders' affective presence and team member behaviour, specifically focusing on team proactive problem prevention and examining whether this relationship is mediated by team psychological safety. Using a two‐wave panel model with 504 professionals in 134 teams, our findings revealed that positive leader affective presence, characterized by instilling enthusiasm, joy and inspiration among team members, was positively associated with perceptions of team psychological safety. In turn, team psychological safety was positively related to leaders' assessments of proactive problem prevention. Interestingly, negative leader affective presence, which triggers worry, tension and stress, was not related to team psychological safety but was positively associated with team proactive problem prevention. These results highlight the importance of leader affective presence in shaping emergent team states and team member behaviour. Researchers and practitioners should thus consider these insights when assessing and intervening in leadership and teamwork processes in organizations.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SELF-ORGANIZING PROCESSES IN BIOLOGY AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A bee swarm, termite colony, anthill, mycelia are just a few biological systems that exist in nature for millions of years, survive and evolve. All the biological systems listed above are united by one concept - the concept of self-organization. Evolutionary processes occurring in these biological systems have been studied for decades by various scientists. This article analyzes the similarity of self-organization processes in biological systems and project teams. The relevance of the topic lies in the importance of rethinking the processes of self-organization in project teams and in building a new structure for the further development of the concepts of self-learning and self-management. As you know, the key resource for the development of society and the economy is the human resource, which cannot always be systematically managed under the supervision of the manager. Self-organization is an important aspect of team life in our future, precisely because of the mobility of functions. This process is characterized by the ability to rationally organize work, both one's own and the work of subordinate teams. Thereby, an effectively designed system of self-management, which takes into account the specifics of the organization's work and the current economic situation, is considered one of the key factors contributing to the achievement of the goals set by the organization. A new look at the structures of the synergetic level, which were established by the laws of physics and nature, will allow us to develop and establish new paradigms in the processes of self-organization and self-management.

Does Organizational Commitment to Mental Health Affect Team Processes? A Longitudinal Study.

Team processes, such as reflexivity and participation, are critical for organizational sustainability, especially in high-reliability professions such as healthcare. However, little is known about health-related predictors of team processes. Basing our hypotheses on the Input-Process-Output (IPO) model, this study investigates the influence of perceived organizational commitment to mental health (OCMH) on healthcare workers' team reflexivity and participation via mental health-specific leadership (MHsL) and team autonomy. The study involved 82 participants (ie, physicians, nurses, healthcare assistants, healthcare technicians, and physiotherapists) working in the Medicine, Emergency, and Neurological Departments at a large public healthcare organization in Italy. Data was gathered at 2-time points, 14 months apart. The results suggest that healthcare workers' perception of their organization's support for mental health at T1 significantly impacts team participation at T2 through MHsL and team autonomy. Likewise, the indirect effect of OCMH through MHsL and team autonomy was also significant in the model predicting team reflexivity. However, in both models, no direct relationship of OCMH on the dependent variables was found. The findings highlight the importance of a mental health-supportive environment and leadership to foster team autonomy and, subsequentially, team processes, which are fundamental for performance and patient care.

An initiative to assess and improve the resources and patient care processes used among Chest Wall Injury Society collaborative centers study (CWIS-CC2).

Over the last two decades, the acute management of rib fractures has changed significantly. In 2021, the Chest Wall injury Society (CWIS) began recognizing centers that epitomize their mission as CWIS Collaborative Centers. The primary aim of this study was to determine the resources, surgical expertise, access to care, and institutional support that are present among centers. A survey was performed including all CWIS Collaborative Centers evaluating the resources available at their hospital for the treatment of patients with chest wall injury. Data about each chest wall injury center care process, availability of resources, institutional support, research support, and educational offerings were recorded. Data were collected from 20 trauma centers resulting in an 80% response rate. These trauma centers were made up of 5 international and 15 US-based trauma centers. Eighty percent (16 of 20) have dedicated care team members for the evaluation and management of rib fractures. Twenty-five percent (5 of 20) have a dedicated rib fracture service with a separate call schedule. Staffing for chest wall injury clinics consists of a multidisciplinary team: with attending surgeons in all clinics, 80% (8 of 10) with advanced practice providers and 70% (7 of 10) with care coordinators. Forty percent (8 of 20) of centers have dedicated rib fracture research support, and 35% (7 of 20) have surgical stabilization of rib fracture (SSRF)-related grants. Forty percent (8 of 20) of centers have marketing support, and 30% (8 of 20) have a web page support to bring awareness to their center. At these trauma centers, a median of 4 (1-9) surgeons perform SSRFs. In the majority of trauma centers, the trauma surgeons perform SSRF. Considerable similarities and differences exist within these CWIS collaborative centers. These differences in resources are hypothesis generating in determining the optimal chest wall injury center. These findings may generate several patient care and team process questions to optimize patient care, patient experience, provider satisfaction, research productivity, education, and outreach. Therapeutic/Care Management; Level V.

Interdependence in Virtual Teams—A Double-Edged Sword?

To address the increased need of understanding how interdependence affects virtual team performance, we experimentally manipulated process interdependence and resource interdependence in 102 virtual teams. We examined effects on team processes and team task and creative performance. Increased process interdependence improved both types of team performance, whereas resource interdependence decreased creative performance. Further, process interdependence was most beneficial for task performance when resource interdependence was low. Contrary to expectations, team processes did not mediate these relationships. We contribute to a fuller understanding of how interdependence influences key performance criteria in virtual teams and provide practical implications for designing virtual teamwork.

Top Management Team Expansion Study: A New Approach Based on the Team Life Cycle

The top management team occupies the position at the top of the organizational management hierarchy, is charged with making strategic decisions, and is crucial to the success of the entire business. The study of top management teams has increased dramatically since the publication of the upper echelons theory. The research findings on the relationship between demographic characteristics and their differences and corporate performance, however, lack stability. This is true whether discussing the relationship between the characteristics of the top management team and organizational performance from the perspective of the team's demographic characteristics and their differences or concentrating on the top management team's interaction process to study the mediating role of team process variables between the team's demographic characteristics and strategic decisions and corporate performance. This paper explores a unique research path for the study of top management teams by reviewing the research lineage of these teams, analyzing the shortcomings of previous studies, and proposing a new line of inquiry based on the team life cycle viewpoint.

The podcast as strategy to professional development and knowledge transfer in Health Care Planning

Abstract Background Is a notorious concern to seek new ways to use technologies in strategies for the development of health professionals with a focus on changes in the work process of health teams and in management practices. The PlanificaSUS Project implements the Health Care Planning (HCP) methodology in Brazil, with a goal to organizing and integrating Primary Health Care (PHC) and Specialized Outpatient Care (SOC) services. Some materials present podcasts as one of the pedagogical resources for reflection and discussion of heath themes. In this sense, each episode of the podcast has a specific theme. Objective: Report the experience of using podcast as a strategy to professional development and knowledge transfer in Health Care Planning. Results So far, nine podcast episodes, lasting ten minutes each, have been made available in the HCP materials and total more than 15,000 views. This strategy reached 4,000 health professionals, who work in 1,635 health units, distributed in 19 federative units in Brazil. All podcasts episodes are prepared using language that dialogues with the health professional and stimulates discussions of changes through cycles of continuous improvement. In specific HCP evaluation moments, participants demonstrated that, in their practice scenarios, the use of the podcast together with repetitive listening, helped to significantly improve their understanding. Conclusions The podcast presents flexibility in its aspects of production and distribution, supporting pedagogical possibilities. As one of the great challenges the training of teacher specialists to produce podcasts, this requires not only technological fluency, but also pedagogical fluency. The use and study of this tool in the educational context of health in Brazil is still incipient, but possible in the different realities of the country. Main messages: The podcast strategy has promising attributes for developing knowledge transfer strategies among healthcare professionals. Key messages • The podcast support possibility of making educational material available in the form of lectures or audio interviews, being accessible at any time without limitation of location. • It is important to provide information access strategies for professionals who have difficulty obtaining protected time to read and study.

Exploring objective measures for assessing team performance in healthcare: an interview study

IntroductionEffective teamwork plays a critical role in achieving high-performance outcomes in healthcare. Consequently, conducting a comprehensive assessment of team performance is essential for providing meaningful feedback during team trainings and enabling comparisons in scientific studies. However, traditional methods like self-reports or behavior observations have limitations such as susceptibility to bias or being resource consuming. To overcome these limitations and gain a more comprehensive understanding of team processes and performance, the assessment of objective measures, such as physiological parameters, can be valuable. These objective measures can complement traditional methods and provide a more holistic view of team performance. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of the use of objective measures for evaluating team performance for research and training purposes. For this, experts in the field of research and medical simulation training were interviewed to gather their opinions, ideas, and concerns regarding this novel approach.MethodsA total of 34 medical and research experts participated in this exploratory qualitative study, engaging in semi-structured interviews. During the interview, experts were asked for (a) their opinion on measuring team performance with objective measures, (b) their ideas concerning potential objective measures suitable for measuring team performance of healthcare teams, and (c) their concerns regarding the use of objective measures for evaluating team performance. During data analysis responses were categorized per question.ResultsThe findings from the 34 interviews revealed a predominantly positive reception of the idea of utilizing objective measures for evaluating team performance. However, the experts reported limited experience in actively incorporating objective measures into their training and research. Nevertheless, they identified various potential objective measures, including acoustical, visual, physiological, and endocrinological measures and a time layer. Concerns were raised regarding feasibility, complexity, cost, and privacy issues associated with the use of objective measures.DiscussionThe study highlights the opportunities and challenges associated with employing objective measures to assess healthcare team performance. It particularly emphasizes the concerns expressed by medical simulation experts and team researchers, providing valuable insights for developers, trainers, researchers, and healthcare professionals involved in the design, planning or utilization of objective measures in team training or research.

Organizational and practical features of rational training of 17-21-year-old football players during the transition to professional football

The article is devoted to solving the problem of managing the training of football players aged 17-21 during the transition to professional teams. The paper characterizes the modern system of long-term improvement in the context of preparing football players for performances in professional teams. The general problems of managing the training of football players aged 17-21 during the period of transition to professional teams are highlighted and the prospects for their solution are presented.
 It was revealed that the level of technical-tactical and special physical fitness of athletes after graduation from the children's and youth football school does not correspond to the model indicators of the players of professional football teams.
 The main reasons for the termination of sports by talented youth during the transition to professional teams have been established:
 
 non-compliance of psychophysiological functions and basic motor qualities of players aged 17-21 with the requirements of the training process and competitive activity of professional teams;
 sports injuries in interdependence with the educational and training process and competitive activity in the early stages of long-term improvement;
 demographic features of football activity.
 
 It has been proven that graduates of sports schools and youth football organizations need from three to five years to develop sports skills, functionality and their effective implementation in professional teams of different leagues in Ukraine.
 The article determines that the improvement of the training management of 17-21-year-old football players during the transition to professional teams is due to the qualitative transformation of two interrelated elements that are of decisive importance for the systematic development of young talents: the competition system and the training system.
 The results of the pedagogical experiment, which provided for the optimization of the content of training loads in accordance with the system of holding competitions among teams under 21, indicate that the indicators of special physical and technical-tactical fitness of football players have gradually improved. The 19-21-year-old athletes corresponded to the level of model data of the players of the professional teams of the second and partially the first leagues of the championship of Ukraine.

Think like a team: Shared mental models predict creativity and problem-solving in space analogs

As long-distance space exploration missions move beyond low Earth orbit, and crews become more Earth-independent, it is essential to identify predictors of team performance - properties of teams that can be monitored during space flight to anticipate performance decrements. The most robust team state predicting performance in the team effectiveness literature is shared mental models. Shared mental models are properties of a group reflecting how members organize knowledge and understanding about the purpose of the team, the nature of the work, and how members work together. In this study we developed a measure of shared mental models for use in ground-based analogs. It was administered in the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA)'s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 4, Campaign 5, and the Nazemnyy Eksperimental'nyy Kompleks (NEK) SIRIUS-19 mission. HERA included eight 4-member crews in isolation for 45 days; NEK SIRIUS-19 included a 6-member crew in isolation for 120 days. To track performance variations, we administered two team tasks: a creative thinking task and a problem-solving task. We found substantial positive correlations between shared mental models and both dimensions of team performance in HERA and in NEK. Though shared mental models are a strong predictor of team performance across mission stages, we found some nuanced shifts. First, mental model sharedness in HERA is associated with crews generating fewer ideas in the third quarter than in other quarters, but also generating more novel, original ideas. Second, in the NEK mission we observed a third quarter effect with problem-solving, and the nature of the effect was that the effect of the shared mental model was most important in all quarters except the third. These results suggest that mission timing but also mission duration are important factors that condition relations between team process variables like shared mental models and team performance indicators.

Critical Analysis of the Selection Process for the General Election Commission Selection Team and the Election Supervisory Body in Indonesia

This research seeks to analyze the selection process for the General Election Commission Selection Team and the Election Supervisory Body in Indonesia from a legal perspective. Through a normative method with a statutory and conceptual approach, the results of this research conclude that the formation of the General Election Commission (KPU) and Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) selection team as regulated in article 22 jo 118 of Law No. 7 of 2017 concerning Elections which the President formed is contrary to the duties and authority The President is regulated in the 1945 Constitution because no article or paragraph explains clearly and explicitly that the President's right to form the authority to create the selection team of KPU and Bawaslu and is not in accordance with the principle of legality or the principle of the rule of law. So, the formation of the selection team is based on article 22 jo 118 of Law No. 7 2017 concerning Elections is null and void along with legal regulations or derivative legal products. There is a legal violation by the President of Article 22E paragraph (5) of the 1945 Constitution.

The First 6 Months as a Novice Director of Nursing Education: Tactics Used for Role Integration and Improvement of Employee Engagement Scores.

A novice director of nursing education and professional practice started her first formal leadership role in a new hospital and a new organization. This article will discuss tactics used within the first 6 months in the role that helped the director integrate into the hospital and leadership teams, improve team structure and processes, and improve employee engagement scores.

Founders' flow: A qualitative study on the role of flow experience in early start-up stages.

Flow experience is a state of complete absorption while performing an optimally challenging and enjoyable task. It is often experienced at work-both in the form of individual and team flow-and can have a positive effect on performance and well-being. However, start-up founders' work situation differs from that in established companies, facing not only great autonomy but also new challenges, uncertainty, and risks. It can be assumed that flow also provides benefits in start-ups, however, this has not yet been examined in depth and the factors that may operate differently in start-ups in comparison to other work contexts have not yet been explored in detail. Using a qualitative research approach, 21 founders from different industries were interviewed. Enhancing and inhibiting factors of flow and team flow as well as consequences for the founders and the start-up in general were examined and structured with the help of a qualitative content analysis. A variety of contexts was identified in which founders experienced flow and team flow. Various factors on the individual, task-related and organizational sphere were found to be perceived as promoting or hindering flow and team flow, e.g. well-being, autonomy or the environment. The findings regarding the consequences of flow and team flow show that these mainly are very desirable states for founders, e.g. leading to better results, progress or team processes. Only few negative consequences were identified, e.g. perfectionism. Thus, it is helpful to foster flow in the start-up context. Possible approaches derived from the participants' statements to this could be, for example, to design flow-promoting environments or participation in specific workshops.

Teams in the Digital Workplace: Technology’s Role for Communication, Collaboration, and Performance

This paper addresses the need for theoretical advancements in understanding team processes and the impact of technology on teams. Specifically, it examines the use of digital collaboration technologies by organizational teams and their effect on team communication and collaboration. Using the concept of affordances as a theoretical lens, the paper explores the potential relationships between technology affordances and essential team processes. It also provides an agenda for future research on social technologies and teams as well as novel methodological approaches for better understanding the ways in which digital technologies are affecting team processes and performance in the workplace.

Factors and interventions determining the functioning of health care teams in county-level hospitals in less affluent areas of China: a qualitative study.

Teamwork is essential for the quality and safety of care, and research on teamwork in health care has developed rapidly in many countries. However, evidence from less affluent, non-Western countries is scarce, while improving teamwork may be especially relevant to be able to increase the quality of care in these settings. This study aims to understand the main factors that influence, and interventions used to improve, the functioning of health care teams in the context of county-level hospitals in less affluent areas of China. We conducted semistructured interviews to explore the factors that influence team functioning and the interventions implemented to improve team functioning in these hospitals. 15 hospital presidents and 15 team leaders were selected as respondents. From the interviews, we have identified five main factors that influence team functioning in these hospitals: "stuck in the middle", local county setting, difficulty in attracting and retaining talent, strong focus on task design, and strong focus on leadership. The interventions for improving team functioning can mostly be categorized as the following: 1) measures to attract and retain talent (e.g., increase salary, train talent in national or provincial level hospitals, and provide fast-track promotions), 2) interventions focused on monodisciplinary teams (e.g., changing the team structure and leadership, and skill training), and 3) interventions to establish and improve multidisciplinary teams (e.g., simulation training and continuous team process improvements). With the introduction of multidisciplinary teams, interventions into team processes have started to receive more attention. The findings depict an overview of the main factors and interventions as specifically relevant for team functioning in county-level hospitals in less affluent areas of China and may help these hospitals benefit from additional process interventions to improve teamwork and the quality of care.

Corrigendum to “Facilitating teamwork in emergency management: the team process checklist” [Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 94 (2023) 103775

Corrigendum to “Facilitating teamwork in emergency management: the team process checklist” [Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 94 (2023) 103775

Navigating Global Leadership Strategies for E-Enabling Technology Deployment

Objective: The objective of this research was to explore and understand the experiences of global corporate leaders in adopting e-enabling innovations and the associated leadership challenges. The research aimed to identify the leadership skills, knowledge, and practices that facilitate the transition from traditional operational models to leaner e-enabled approaches.
 
 Method: This qualitative phenomenological research engaged 20 global corporate leaders in an in-depth examination of their leadership experiences. The research focused on how these leaders employed their skills and knowledge to drive the transformation of their corporates into more efficient and interconnected entities through e-enabling technologies.
 
 Results: Four distinct themes emerged from the analysis of the corporate leaders’ experiences. The findings highlighted the significant influence of transformational leadership attributes combined with the e-leadership approach on the successful implementation of information technology initiatives. The leaders’ insights emphasized the transformative effects of their leadership on both corporate strategies and technological decisions. Additionally, the study revealed the identification of best practices and procedures that contribute to effective e-enabling technology adoption.
 
 Conclusion: Embracing e-enabling best practices and employing transformational leadership approaches have a positive impact on the quality of information technology implementations in corporate settings. The research underlines how leaders’ experiences can help them recognize the broader implications of their leadership styles on technology-driven decisions. Consequently, this recognition supports the development of effective strategies for successful e-enabling technology integration. Furthermore, the study highlights the necessity of aligning mentoring, training, and education strategies with corporate goals to enable the adoption of new e-leadership approaches. As organizations continue to navigate complex technological landscapes, the cultivation of 21st-century e-leadership skills become essential for effectively managing changes in team capabilities, processes, and knowledge management.