Into the fray: Adaptive approaches to studying novel teamwork forms

Abstract

Novel forms of teamwork—created by rapid change and growing diversity among collaborators—are increasingly common, and they present substantial methodological challenges for research. We highlight two aspects of new team forms that challenge conventional methods. Factors pertaining to change (e.g., in membership) create entitativity challenges such as whom to count as team members, while factors pertaining to difference (e.g., in expertise) create concordance challenges such as how to interpret disagreement in groups. We review research methods that are well-suited to each of these specific challenges. We identify the particular challenges of studying teams that exhibit high difference and change simultaneously and call for adaptive methods that enable insight into how they work. Clarity about the dimensions of deviation from ideal team forms, along with shared terminology, will help researchers make and discuss tough methodological choices and assist reviewers in evaluating them.

The Voice Cultivation Process: How Team Members Can Help Upward Voice Live on to Implementation

“…As we previously argued, voice in teams may be inherently different from voice that occurs privately because voice in a public, team context may be recalled later by team members who initially heard the voiced idea (e.g., Soderstrom and Weber, 2020). Exploring the moderating effects of individual and team characteristics (e.g., personality composition, team size, and team structure), prior relationships (e.g., team member familiarity or prior experience working together), shared experiences (e.g., team launch), temporality (e.g., short duration teams), and dynamism (e.g., changes in goals, tasks, or membership) (Kerrissey, Satterstrom, and Edmondson, 2020) may uncover how these team attributes affect the trajectory of voiced ideas and could be fruitful avenues for future research. For example, future studies could examine how the distribution of power on the team affects both the process (e.g., the type of cultivation practices the team uses) and outcomes.…”

Knowing Well, Being Well: well-being born of understanding: The Science of Teamwork

“…Changes in the nature of work have also had implications for teams in terms of rapidly evolving membership; shorter timelines; more diverse backgrounds/expertise; emerging challenges with unpredictable resources; and being embedded in complex, multi-team systems. 9 There are ever increasing demands to rapidly adapt team functioning to maximize learning and performance.…”

Leadership in Times of Crisis

“…37 On March 21, 2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled plans for a four-level COVID-19 alert system. 38 This strategy was adapted from the wildfire risk system that was already well known to New Zealanders, creating a familiar model for the population to understand. The four-level alert system clearly illustrated how the nation’s response would escalate, 39 and provided citizens with an understanding of the potential policy changes.…”