Teamwork in Healthcare: Vital Role of Team Leader for Optimal Outcomes - Essay Sample

Introduction

A team is a group of members that work as a single entity towards a common goal. The interaction between the individual performance of all members makes the team more effective in a particular task. In health care, the development of a good team requires all workers to understand and believe in the common objective to treat and care for all patients (Craig & McKeown, 2015). The team leader plays a vital role in ensuring all members contribute towards their aimed objective daily. Effective teams take time to develop as they go through different stages of growth; thus, openness and trust are essential among the group members (Craig & McKeown, 2015). The structures of teams may differ based on the purpose, but the leader always has to plan, organize, motivate, and control the members to bring the highest performance. Teamwork has proven to be a vital strategy in providing the best health care in the country.

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Team Development Process

According to Tuckman's theory, a team goes through four stages of growth during development (Kumar et al., 2014). The "Tuckman's Stages" research was on team dynamics, which he believed for teams to grow and function effectively together they had to go through all the stages. The four levels are forming, storming, norming, and performing (Kumar et al., 2014). Later on, Tuckman added a fifth stage named adjourning or transforming, which was the final step after completion of the task (Abudi, 2010).

Forming

Forming is the initial stage of team development, where members of the team meet for the first time (Abudi, 2010). During the meeting, the workers get to know each other and discuss the project they will be working on together. The team leader usually vividly describes the goals of the team and what each member is to contribute to the group (Abudi, 2010). The leader needs to guide the members through this stage because they are unaware of the roles, norms, and rules of the project.

Storming

Storming is the next step which comes in immediately the team starts working together. During this stage, the members get competitive for roles and status in the group (Abudi, 2010). The workers usually have a conflict of ideas and opinions on who, how, and what they should do. The storming stage is a crucial phase in team development, which requires patience and focus on the long-term team goal. The members get critical of their abilities and the role of the team leader (Abudi, 2010). Therefore, the leader has to coach and mentor the workers on how to work together as a team. The members start to learn the significance of supporting and assisting each other when necessary.

Norming

During this stage, the team has learned to work together effectively towards a common goal (Abudi, 2010). The roles and responsibilities of each member are well-defined, and they all contribute to the group's objective. The workers now value and respect each other's opinion and differences. Every member clearly understands the norms of the project on how to complete daily tasks, share information, and solve conflicts efficiently. A sense of togetherness has developed in the group, and they assist each other instead of competing for status.

Performing

The performing stage is when the team is highly productive and solely focuses on attaining its objectives (Abudi, 2010). The members are now dependent on each other's contributions. During this phase, the team is highly motivated due to their significant progress in the project. Even without the leader, the workers can quickly make decisions and solve problems. Furthermore, the quick decision-making and sharing of responsibilities ensure the progress of the project continues smoothly as the team comes into consensus.

Adjourning

Adjourning or transforming is the final step after completion of the team's objective. The members have a sense of closure and can now move to different paths in life. In this stage, the leader evaluates the well-being of the team rather than the first four stages of growth. The members get a chance to celebrate their achievements and recapture lessons for future practices.

Roles of Health Care Leaders

A great leader must understand the dynamics of developing an efficient team; thus, should engage all the members of the team to ensure a smooth transition from forming, storming, and norming to performing stage (Kumar et al., 2014). The team leader plays a vital role in the overall performance of the team by planning, organizing, motivating and controlling.

Planning and Organizing

The health care leader must be clear about the team's goal and guide the members on the rules and regulations of working in the health project. He or she must ensure all the workers are involved collectively towards a common goal. During the exchange of ideas, the health care leader should give everyone a chance to present their opinions. Some members will need coaching to be more assertive and others to be good listeners (Kumar et al., 2014). In cases of conflict, the leader has to step in and solve the issues as quickly as possible to maintain balance.

Motivating

After the team starts performing, the health care leader has to continue monitoring the progress of the project and offer moral support to ensure high standards are constant. Motivation is the ability to encourage other people to accomplish a particular task, which is necessary to achieve the desired results (Kumar et al., 2014). The motivating factors can be bonus rewards and small celebrations for every milestone the team surpasses during the project.

Controlling

For the team to work smoothly, the health care leader has to establish hierarchal control over all the members (Kumar et al., 2014). He or she must provide a chain of command for quick decision-making and problem-solving. However, a great leader must consider the opinions of fellow team members and make decisions that are best for the team. Moreover, they should always appreciate the contributions of all the workers and solve conflicts with fairness.

Causes of Teams to Dysfunction

The interaction between workers is bound to create challenges in the team's progress during the development stages. Even the best of groups struggle to maintain the high standards of effectiveness. Most team dysfunction because of the following reasons.

Lack of trust and respect among the members, which prevents the growth of the team and achieving goals (Kumar et al., 2014). Individual workers always feel unsupported as the members are competing against each other instead of working together.

Fear of conflict during the storming of ideas and opinions (Kumar et al., 2014). Some workers may choose to preserve the harmony of the team when exchanging thoughts at the expense of coming up with the best solution to a problem in the project. Therefore, workers waste time and energy without completing tasks effectively.

Lack of commitment to the objectives of the team. Members who are uncommitted to the group's purpose do not hold themselves accountable to the progress of the project. Thus, the team loses its sense of direction and burdens the leader to take all the responsibility to drive the workers forward (Kumar et al., 2014).

Lack of attention to the group's objective, where some members are working towards their individual goals. The search for self-satisfaction to boost their ego results in failure of the team to accomplish its goals (Kumar et al., 2014).

Lack of effective communication among the team members. The sharing of information is integral for the smooth running of operations in any group. Absence of frequent and transparent information delays the decision-making process and completion of tasks.

Strategies to Resolve Issues

The team leader has to respond instantly to dysfunctional characteristics in the team to ensure the accomplishment of the team's objectives. The sooner he or she addresses the issues, the quicker the workers get back to working effectively as a unit and complete the project.

The leader has to instill the aspect of value and respect for each other in the team (Kumar et al., 2014). When the members respect and value the contributions of others, they are like to work collectively and assist one another when necessary. He or she must also encourage harmony among workers, even though they bring different ideas to the group. Brainstorming in teams brings about the best possible solution to a particular problem (Kumar et al., 2014).

The leader should make sure all members are committed to the project and are accountable for their contributions. The workers need to understand the significance of the project and the role they have to play to attain the goal.

The members need transparent and frequent communication from the team leader to guide them through daily operations, especially during the four stages of growth (Kumar et al., 2014). The leader also needs to provide feedback to show appreciation for their contributions and offer support in cases of emergencies. Moreover, the team needs to develop positive relationships in and out of work for moral support among each other.

Conclusion

Good teamwork is crucial in health care; thus, the team leaders should develop a culture in which all workers function well and flourish to ensure that patients get the best services in the country. Regardless of the team dynamics, all teams face challenges through the four stages of development. The health care leaders have to step in and take control to help their teams. With time, the group grows into an efficient machine, and the leader's role is only to monitor and motivate the members as the project progresses. Implementation of coaching and mentorship skills ensures members stay motivated and work towards the team's goal.

References

Abudi, G. (2010, May 9). The five stages of team development: A case study. Projectsmart. https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.php

Craig, M., & McKeown, D. (2015). Teambuilding 1: How to build effective teams in healthcare. Nursing Times. Retrieved May 25, 2020, from https://www.nursingtimes.net/roles/nurse-managers/teambuilding-1-how-to-build-effective-teams-in-healthcare-30-03-2015/

Kumar, S., Deshmukh, V., & Adhish, V. S. (2014). Building and leading teams. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 39(4), 208-213. https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.143020