The Cultural Characteristics of Fast-Paced, High-Performance Teams
Research from Harvard University and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
With the increasing complexity of projects and the need for rapid innovation, teams are often formed and reformed on the fly, requiring individuals to work together seamlessly despite their differing expertise and backgrounds. But what makes some teams thrive in these fluid environments, while others struggle to achieve their goals?
A study published in Frontiers in Psychology sheds light on the importance of joint problem-solving orientation (JPS) in fluid teamwork environments. The researchers, led by Michaela Kerrissey and Zhanna Novikov, set out to investigate the relationship between JPS, mutual value recognition (MVR), and performance in healthcare teams.
But first, let’s define some of the key terms.
Joint Problem-Solving (JPS)
According to the study, JPS refers to the extent to which team members view problems as shared and solutions as requiring co-production. It's about team members recognizing that they are all in it together, and that solving problems requires collaboration and joint effort.
The study breaks down JPS into two interrelated aspects:
Problem-solving: This refers to the extent to which team members seek help and advice from each other to address complex tasks and problems.
Jointness: This refers to the extent to which team members view problems as mutually faced and requiring solving together. It's about recognizing that problems are not just individual issues, but rather team-level challenges that require collective effort to solve.
In other words, JPS is about team members being willing to work together to solve problems. It's about creating a culture of collaboration and shared responsibility, where team members feel comfortable seeking help and advice from each other, and where everyone is working together towards a common goal.
By fostering a JPS orientation, teams can improve their ability to adapt to changing circumstances, and to solve complex problems that require collaboration and creativity.
Mutual Value Recognition (MVR)
According to the study, MVR refers to the extent to which team members recognize and value each other's contributions. It is defined as "the extent to which people recognize (i.e., respect, trust, and listen to) the value that others bring to collaboration."
In other words, MVR is about team members acknowledging and appreciating the unique skills, expertise, and perspectives that each person brings to the team. It's about recognizing that everyone has something valuable to offer, and being willing to listen to and learn from each other.
The study suggests that MVR is particularly important in fluid teamwork environments, where team members may not have a lot of time to get to know each other or establish a shared understanding. By recognizing and valuing each other's contributions, team members can build trust and work together more effectively, even in the face of uncertainty and change.
The Problem: Fluid Teamwork Environments
In a lot of fast-paced teams (for e.g, hospital emergency rooms) team organizations rely heavily on fluid teamwork to accomplish complex tasks. However, this fluidity can also create challenges for teams, particularly when individuals with different expertise and backgrounds need to work together. The lack of familiarity and shared understanding can lead to communication breakdowns, conflicts, and decreased performance.
The researchers identified that traditional team structures, with stable and bounded membership, are often not feasible in fluid environments. Instead, teams are formed and reformed as needed, requiring individuals to adapt quickly to new team members and tasks. This fluidity can be particularly challenging in industries like healthcare, where teams are often formed on the fly to address patient needs.
The Methodology: A Longitudinal Study
To investigate the relationship between JPS, MVR, and performance, the researchers conducted a longitudinal study of 1,608 departmental units within a large healthcare organization. They collected data through surveys administered to staff members at two time points, with a response rate of 87% in 2019 and 80% in 2021.
The researchers measured JPS using a modified version of a previously developed scale, which assessed the extent to which team members viewed problems as shared and solutions as requiring co-production. They also measured MVR using a validated survey instrument, which captured the extent to which team members recognized and valued each other's contributions.
The Results
The study's results showed that JPS was positively associated with performance, both directly and through its relationship with MVR. In other words, teams with a strong joint problem-solving orientation were more likely to perform well, and this relationship was strengthened when team members recognized and valued each other's contributions.
The researchers also found that expertise variety (EV) moderated the relationship between JPS and MVR. When teams had a high level of expertise variety, the relationship between JPS and MVR was stronger, suggesting that JPS is particularly important in teams with diverse expertise.
Practical Applications
So, what do these findings mean for leaders and managers? Here are some key takeaways:
Joint problem-solving orientation is critical in fluid teamwork environments. By fostering a culture that encourages team members to view problems as shared and solutions as requiring co-production, leaders can improve team performance and adaptability.
Mutual value recognition is essential for effective teamwork. When team members recognize and value each other's contributions, they're more likely to work together seamlessly and achieve their goals.
This is the opposite to how many teams function in practice, where sometimes there are one or two individuals (usually the team lead) who function as the glue, and others are just working on their own siloed tasks. What this paper indicates is that this approach is usually flawed, and if they imbibe a culture where everyone looks at solving the problem together, and values each other’s expertise, then performance can increase dramatically.
For example, in a team which is largely comprised of just front-end developers, they might be a lot of expertise, but will have low expertise variety. Everybody has a decent idea of what the other person does, and since they’re front-end developers themselves, they recognize the importance of each other's contributions.
However, in highly cross-functional teams, the expertise variety is high. For example, there might be developers, PMs, UX people, data science people etc. In low-functioning teams, you’ll often find people of one group not having a full understanding, and thus, full appreciation, of what people from other functions bring to the team.
High-performance teams, on the other hand, recognize the unique value each function brings to the team, and they have a culture to develop a holistic view on how to solve business problems by utilizing the strengths of all functions.
Expertise variety can be a double-edged sword. While diverse expertise can bring unique perspectives and ideas, it can also create communication challenges and conflicts. Leaders should prioritize JPS and MVR in teams with high expertise variety to ensure that team members can work together effectively.
Now you might think - people who are experts in their own field, may not have the knowledge to truly appreciate the value and expertise of others, especially in a fast-paced environment where you don’t have time to know each other too much. The authors address this point in their paper.
Our research suggests that when fluid teamwork prevents people from gaining in-depth familiarity with other individuals—a key to performance in stable teams […] they may nonetheless through joint problem-solving orientations come to better recognize the value of others’ contributions and thereby generate performance.
In other words, even in these environments, if the culture is such that instead of silos, the team members are encouraged to work together to jointly solve problems, they will get to recognize each others contributions and value.
Working Groups
Also, we often think from the perspective of long-standing teams, but the research here is even more applicable to short duration working groups. They are often established to address a burning need, are composed of a few people with various expertise, and are time-limited. This is more akin to the fluid teams that were studies in this research.
From personal experience as well as the research from this study, I can say that the best working groups are ones where everybody knows why each person is in the team, what unique thing they brought to the table, they knew the mission, the mandate, and know how their work fits together to solve the problem. In other words, those working groups have high JPS and MVR.
The Role of Leadership
The role of leadership in these groups is vital, since a lot of this is facilitated by the leadership. They emphasize the role of everyone, remind people of why people are there, facilitate conversations and highlight people’s contributions to others.
If done wrong, then leadership might make people work in solos, not truly explain what everyone’s role is and how it fits into the larger picture, and execute work where only a few people truly know the larger picture. This is almost always a recipe for mediocre performance, at best.
So, to sum it up
For high-performance in fluid, fast-paced teams
Focus on having a diverse variety of expertise
Make sure everyone values each other’s expertise and contributions
Make sure everybody is looking to solve problems jointly, instead of in silos.