• Background Links between teamwork and outcomes have been established in a number of fields. Investigations into this link in healthcare have yielded equivocal results. • Objective To examine the relationship between the level of self-identified teamwork in the intensive care unit and patients’ outcomes. • Method A total of 394 staff members of 17 intensive care units completed the Group Development Questionnaire and a demographic survey. The questionnaire is a reliable and valid measure of team development and effectiveness. Each unit’s predicted and actual mortality rates for the month in which data were collected were obtained. Pearson product moment correlations and analyses of variance were used to analyze the data. • Results Staff members of units with mortality rates that were lower than predicted perceived their teams as functioning at higher stages of group development. They perceived their team members as less dependent and more trusting than did staff members of units with mortality rates that were higher than predicted. Staff members of high-performing units also perceived their teams as more structured and organized than did staff members of lower-performing units. • Conclusions The results of this study and others establish a link between teamwork and patients’ outcomes in intensive care units. The evidence is sufficient to warrant the implementation of strategies designed to improve the level of teamwork and collaboration among staff members in intensive care units.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the length of time that work groups had been meeting and the verbal behavior patterns and perceptions of group members about their groups. The verbal behavior patterns and perceptions of 180 members of 26 work groups were examined. Perceptions of 639 people in 88 work groups also were explored. Significant relationships and differences were noted between the length of time that work groups had been meeting and the verbal behavior patterns and perceptions of group members. Specifically, members of groups that had been meeting longer made significantly less dependency and fight statements and significantly more work statements. They also perceived their groups to be functioning at higher stages of group development. The results of this study lent further support to traditional models of group development. Verbal behavior patterns of members vary significantly in groups of different durations. Member perceptions of their group’s development also vary significantly in groups of different durations.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between teacher perceptions of faculty group effectiveness and development and actual levels of productivity in 10 elementary, middle, and high schools. The results suggest that a strong relationship exists. Faculty groups functioning at higher levels of development have students who perform better on standard achievement measures.

Further work is necessary to describe how leadership program formats can be diversified to better encourage reflexivity. There is also a need to develop mechanisms for assessing outcomes of leadership programs that expand outside the competency-based system.