Showing papers on "Psychological safety published in 2013"

Transformational leadership, job satisfaction, and team performance: A multilevel mediation model of trust

Abstract: In spite of calls for deliberate differentiation between individual and team levels of analysis, leadership research based on well-grounded theory referring to multiple levels is scarce. We seek to fill this gap by analyzing the relations between transformational leadership, trust in supervisor and team, job satisfaction, and team performance via multilevel analysis. Results are based on a sample of 360 employees from 39 academic teams. Transformational leadership was positively related to followers' job satisfaction at individual as well as team levels of analysis and to objective team performance. The relation between individual perceptions of supervisors' transformational leadership and job satisfaction was mediated by trust in the supervisor as well as trust in the team. Yet, trust in the team did not mediate the relationship between team perceptions of supervisors' transformational leadership and team performance. Implications for theory and research of leadership at multiple levels as well as for practice are discussed.

Team Effectiveness Theory from Industrial and Organizational Psychology Applied to Engineering Student Project Teams: A Research Review

Abstract: Background Engineering student team projects are frequently used to meet professional learning outcomes. Industrial and organizational psychologists study teams in the industry settings for which we prepare students, yet this research does not effectively inform engineering education. Purpose This research review sought to demonstrate the relevance of literature on teams literature from industrial and organizational psychology to engineering education and to identify implications for practice and future directions for research. Scope/Method Phase 1 systematically reviewed 104 articles published from 2007 to 2012 describing engineering and computer science student team projects and sought to answer the following questions: What professional learning outcomes have been met by team projects? What negative student team behaviors have faculty sought to minimize? What literature has been used to inform development of teamwork outcomes? Phase 2 reviewed five team effectiveness constructs selected according to the results of Phase 1: social loafing, interdependence, conflict, trust, and shared mental models. Examples from Phase 1 articles and our own work explain how this research informs facilitation and assessment of engineering student teams. Conclusions Engineering faculty sought to achieve a variety of outcomes through team projects, including teamwork, communication, sustainability, and consideration of global/societal design context. They sought to avoid social loafing and conflict while building trust to ensure equal team effort. That few Phase 1 articles engaged the literature about team effectiveness indicates there is great opportunity to apply industrial and organizational psychology research to engineering education.

Empowered Selling Teams: How Shared Leadership Can Contribute to Selling Team Outcomes

Abstract: Customer demands and an increasingly complex environment can make team selling critical to strategy implementation, profitability and competitive advantage. The increased use of selling teams has not been matched by an increased understanding of how to foster enhanced selling team effectiveness. In this article we define empowered selling teams and the shared leadership process within such teams. We develop a limited model of selling team effectiveness where team member characteristics, and vertical leadership, influence shared leadership and shared leadership indirectly and directly influences selling team effectiveness.

TeamGAINS: a tool for structured debriefings for simulation-based team trainings

Abstract: Background Improving patient safety by training teams to successfully manage emergencies is a major concern in healthcare. Most current trainings use simulation of emergency situations to practice and reflect on relevant clinical and behavioural skills. We developed TeamGAINS, a hybrid, structured debriefing tool for simulationbased team trainings in healthcare that integrates three different debriefing approaches: guided team self-correction, advocacy-inquiry and systemic-constructivist techniques. Methods TeamGAINS was administered during simulation-based trainings for clinical and behavioural skills for anaesthesia staff. One of the four daily scenarios involved all trainees, whereas the remaining three scenarios each involved only two trainees with the others observing them. Training instructors were senior anaesthesiologists and psychologists. To determine debriefing quality, we used a post-test-only (debriefing quality) and a pre-post-test (psychological safety, leader inclusiveness), no-control-group design. After each debriefing all trainees completed a self-report debriefing quality scale which we developed based on the Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare and the Observational Structured Assessment of Debriefing. Perceived psychological safety and leader inclusiveness were measured before trainees’ first (premeasure) and after their last debriefing (postmeasure) at which time trainees’ reactions to the overall training were measured as well. Results Four senior anaesthetists, 29 residents and 28 nurses participated in a total of 40 debriefings resulting in 235 evaluations. Utility of debriefings was evaluated as highly positive. Prepost comparisons revealed that psychological safety and leader inclusiveness significantly increased after the debriefings. Conclusions The results indicate that TeamGAINS could provide a useful debriefing tool for training anaesthesia staff on all levels of work experience. By combining state-of-the-art debriefing methods and integrating systemicconstructivist techniques, TeamGAINS has the potential to allow for a surfacing, reflecting on and changing of the dynamics of team interactions. Further research is necessary to systematically compare the effects of TeamGAINS’ components on the debriefing itself and on trainees’ changes in attitudes and behaviours.

Illusions of team working in health care

Abstract: Purpose: The ubiquity and value of teams in healthcare are well acknowledged. However, in practice, healthcare teams vary dramatically in their structures and effectiveness in ways that can damage team processes and patient outcomes. The aim of this paper is to highlight these characteristics and to extrapolate several important aspects of teamwork that have a powerful impact on team effectiveness across healthcare contexts. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws upon the literature from health services management and organisational behaviour to provide an overview of the current science of healthcare teams. Findings: Underpinned by the input-process-output framework of team effectiveness, team composition, team task, and organisational support are viewed as critical inputs that influence key team processes including team objectives, leadership and reflexivity, which in turn impact staff and patient outcomes. Team training interventions and care pathways can facilitate more effective interdisciplinary teamwork. Originality/value: The paper argues that the prevalence of the term "team" in healthcare makes the synthesis and advancement of the scientific understanding of healthcare teams a challenge. Future research therefore needs to better define the fundamental characteristics of teams in studies in order to ensure that findings based on real teams, rather than pseudo-like groups, are accumulated.

To reflect or not to reflect: Prior team performance as a boundary condition of the effects of reflexivity on learning and final team performance

Abstract: A small but growing body of literature adds to our understanding of the role of team reflexivity (i.e., reflecting upon team functioning) in predicting team performance. Although many studies conclude that reflexivity is an asset for teams, the contingencies of team reflexivity have received far less research attention. In this respect, we argue that team reflexivity may be especially helpful for teams with relatively low performance. Teams that are reflexive tend to learn from previous mistakes, errors, and group processes, which in turn will improve the performance of the team. We propose that this relationship will most likely positively affect learning and final team performance under conditions of relatively poor prior performance. When a team is doing relatively well, the relationship between reflexivity and final team performance will be less clear, as reflexivity and learning is less needed. In a longitudinal study (N = 73 teams), we found support for this idea. As predicted, results indicated that this interaction between team reflexivity and initial team performance on future performance was mediated by team learning. We outline how these findings are important for our understanding of the contingencies of team reflexivity and team performance dynamics.

Managing diversity at work: Does psychological safety hold the key to racial differences in employee performance?

Abstract: Previous diversity research has neglected the role of psychological mechanisms that underlie the relationship between diversity climate and employee performance. Drawing on social and racial identity theories, we hypothesized that psychological safety mediates the relationship between diversity climate and employee performance. Furthermore, we proposed that race moderates both stages of the mediation, whereby the relationships between diversity climate and psychological safety and between psychological safety and performance are stronger for minorities than for Whites. Results, based on a survey of employees and their colleagues, revealed that the relationship between diversity climate and employee performance was mediated by psychological safety. We also found that the diversity climate–psychological safety and psychological safety–extra-role performance relationships were moderated by race, such that these relationships were stronger for minorities than for Whites. Further, the indirect effects of diversity climate on extra-role behaviours via psychological safety were also moderated by race, such that these relationships were stronger for minorities than for Whites. For efficient management of diversity in organizations, research and practical implications are also discussed. Practitioner Points In the midst of increasing workforce diversity, the study highlights the importance of a psychologically safe work environment where employees feel confident in expressing their true selves without fear of being judged as inferior or incompetent. By necessitating the creation of psychologically safe work environments, the study establishes psychological safety as a principal motivator of employee performance behaviours in a racially diverse work setting. The study cautions organizational practitioners that when dealing with racial diversity, one size does not fit all. Rather, positive organizational contexts (such as diversity climate and psychological safety) hold a greater significance for minorities and are more effective in shaping their performance behaviours.

The Structural Context of Team Learning: Effects of Organizational and Team Structure on Internal and External Learning

Abstract: This paper reports on a study of structural antecedents to team learning. In a study of self-managed pharmaceutical research and development teams, we first find that more team-level structure is associated with more internal learning as well as more external learning. We then establish that more organizational-level structure is negatively associated with both internal and external learning. We find that psychological safety mediates the positive relationship between team structure and team learning, and that task autonomy constraints mediate the negative relationship between organizational structure and team learning. Investigating the interaction effect between team and organizational structure, we find, unexpectedly, that organizational structure supports external team learning under conditions of less team structure. Specifically, when teams have less team structure, the relationship between organizational structure and external team learning is positive. This structure substitutability finding suggests that although more organizational structure, on average, hurts external team learning, there are situations in which it helps. An important implication of the study is that multiple levels of structure, and their interactions, should be taken into consideration when assessing structural effects on team learning.

What happens when you trust your supervisor? Mediators of individual performance in trust relationships

Abstract: Summary To understand how trust in supervisor translates into individual job performance, we hypothesize that trust in supervisor facilitates positive psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety, and availability, which in turn predict individual job performance. We assert that each of the three mediating paths in our model represents a distinct mechanism by which trust in supervisor contributes to individual job performance. We test our hypotheses with 206 supervisor–subordinate dyads and find that trust in supervisor contributes to job performance through psychological availability and psychological safety but not psychological meaningfulness. By examining three different psychological mechanisms within the same frame, we provide a test that compares and contrasts the uniqueness of the three pathways. Our findings suggest practical ways for managers to build trust with subordinates and guidance for the design of productive work conditions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Team Creative Performance: The Roles of Empowering Leadership, Creative-Related Motivation, and Task Interdependence

Abstract: Drawing on theories of self-determination, leadership, and creativity, this study developed and tested a conceptual model that aligns empowering leadership with team creativity by simultaneously te...

Group dynamics and shared mental model development.

Abstract: Moving toward the 21st century, teams continue to be a dominant presence in industry (Guzzo & Salas, 1995). Created for tasks as varied as designing a product to selecting a new CEO, they have a life expectancy that can range from the length of a given meeting to the duration of a corporation (e.g., Cannon-Bowers, Tannenbaum, Salas, & Volpe, 1995). Clearly, the last decades have seen a tremendous increase in the use of teams. As such, the implementation, use, or both, of teams as a definable organizational unit has substantially increased-beginning with the periodic use of quality circles and project teams and ending with the current popularity of self-managed teams. Surveys of medium to large corporations reveal that the “team presence” in industry has risen from 5% in the early 1980s to over 50% in the mid-1990s (Savoie, 1998). Similar results were found by an American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) Survey (1993) that polled over 1,200 employees, revealing that 80% were involved in one or more teams in their company.

Team members' perceptions of online teamwork learning experiences and building teamwork trust: A qualitative study

Abstract: Teamwork factors can facilitate team members, committing themselves to the purposes of maximizing their own and others' contributions and successes. It is important for online instructors to comprehend students' expectations on learning collaboratively. The aims of this study were to investigate online collaborative learning experiences and to identify important factors that were crucial for building teamwork trust. A qualitative research method was utilized in the study. Data were collected from students' responses of three open-ended questions and interviews. The results indicated that students who enjoyed working in the group setting had a good relationship with their team members and they trusted their team members. In contrast, the questionable behaviors of members (lack of communication and low level of individual accountability) were negative factors of their teamwork experiences. In addition, students considered individual accountability, familiarity with team members, commitment toward quality work, and team cohesion were important factors for building trust with team members. Quantitative analyses confirmed that teamwork trust was correlated significantly with two of the important factors for building trust indicated by team members: familiarity with members (r = .74) and team cohesion (r = .79). Implications and recommendations for future research were also discussed.

The Culturally Intelligent Team The Impact of Team Cultural Intelligence and Cultural Heterogeneity on Team Shared Values

Abstract: This study examines how the cultural heterogeneity of work teams moderates the way in which team cultural intelligence (CQ) affects the development of team shared values. Utilizing the four-factor model of CQ, we predict how each facet of CQ will impact the development of shared values in relatively early stages of team development differently for culturally homogeneous versus culturally heterogeneous work teams. We operationalize team shared values as the degree to which a broad set of cultural values are similarly endorsed by team members as guiding principles when working in their team. Results show that behavioral and metacognitive CQ had a positive effect on shared values in culturally heterogeneous teams; however, motivational and metacognitive CQ had a negative effect on shared values in culturally homogeneous teams. All effects were observed in the early stages of team development. Having uncovered positive and negative effects of CQ for shared values in work teams, we discuss implications for the...

Cross‐functional team effectiveness: An examination of internal team environment, shared leadership, and cohesion influences

Abstract: Purpose – Current research remains unclear on what factors contribute to cross‐functional team (CFT) success. Thus, the primary purpose of this investigation is to examine internal factors of the team (namely internal team environment, shared leadership, and cohesion) and the influence of each factor on CFT effectiveness.Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling is used to empirically examine the data collected from an undergraduate student sample. Teams worked competitively on a complex task requiring functional area expertise.Findings – Results from the study indicate internal team environment influences effectiveness through shared leadership and cohesion as found in other forms of teams. However, unique to CFTs, internal team environment is not directly related to effectiveness, and shared leadership does not directly influence cohesion. The findings suggest that in CFTs, internal team environment indirectly influences effectiveness.Research limitations/implications – The findings of ...

Global organizational communities of practice: The effects of nationality diversity, psychological safety, and media richness on community performance

Abstract: Organizational communities of practice (OCoPs) are used increasingly to capitalize on valuable distributed knowledge and to fully engage the innovation potential of employees. OCoPs have become increasingly global in their reach, relying of necessity on virtual forms of interaction to engage the participation and expertise of a global workforce. An unanswered question is whether the performance of such global OCoPs may be predicted to benefit or suffer owing to their nationality diversity. Using data from over 200 members of 30 global OCoPs in a Fortune 100 US-based multinational mining and minerals processing firm, we found that nationality diversity was curvilinearly (U-shaped) related to community performance. We also found that the curvilinear relationship was moderated by psychological safety and the extent of rich communication media use. Specifically, the arc relating nationality diversity and performance became more positive at the higher end, and less negative at the lower end, to the extent that...

Feeling Included and Valued: How Perceived Respect Affects Positive Team Identity and Willingness to Invest in the Team

Abstract: Previous research has documented that intra-group respect fosters individual engagement with work teams or organizations. The authors extend this work by empirically distinguishing between perceived inclusion of the self in the team and perceived value of the self for the team as separate psychological consequences of respect. Based on a social identity analysis, it is predicted that perceived inclusion facilitates the development of a positive team identity (how the individual feels about the team), while perceived value elicits the willingness to invest in the team (what the individual is willing to do for the team). Support for these predictions is obtained with structural equation modelling among two independent samples of professional soldiers working in military teams (ntotal=495). Reports of individual team members about positive team identity and willingness to invest in the team correlated with supervisor ratings of the team's action readiness. British Journal of Management

The role of positive affectivity in team effectiveness during crises.

Abstract: Summary Organizational efforts to improve team effectiveness in crisis situations primarily have focused on team training initiatives and, to a lesser degree, on staffing teams with respect to members' ability, experience, and functional backgrounds. Largely neglected in these efforts is the emotional component of crises and, correspondingly, the notion of staffing teams with consideration for their affective makeup. To address this void, we examined the impact of team member dispositional positive affect (PA) on team crisis effectiveness and the role of felt negative emotion in transmitting that influence. A study of 21 nuclear power plant crews engaged in crisis training simulations revealed that homogeneity in PA, but not mean-level PA, was associated with greater team effectiveness. Mediation analysis suggested that homogeneity in PA leads to greater team effectiveness by reducing the amount of negative emotions that team members experience during crises. Furthermore, homogeneity in PA compensated for lower mean-level PA in predicting effectiveness. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for understanding and further exploring the importance of affective factors and especially team affective composition in team crisis performance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Team Receptivity to Newcomers: Five Decades of Evidence and Future Research Themes

Abstract: Reviews of research on newcomers mostly address socialization processes, focusing on individual adjustment. This article takes a different approach by examining the ways in which teams adapt to new...

Helping teams to help themselves: : comparing two team-led debriefing methods

Abstract: Team-based structures have become more widely used in organizations. Therefore, it is important for team members to perform well in their current team and to build skills and enthusiasm for working on future teams. This study examined team debriefing, an intervention in which team members reflect on recent experiences to prepare for subsequent tasks. Prior researchers have shown that facilitated team debriefs work, but they have not examined how to enable teams to conduct their own debriefs or studied how debriefs affect individual level outcomes. Therefore, we compared 2 team-led debriefing techniques: (a) an unguided debrief and (b) a guided debrief designed to incorporate lessons learned from prior debriefs. We collected data from 174 business students who were members of 35 teams from 9 sections of a Strategic Management course. Class sections were randomly assigned to one of the debriefing conditions, and teams completed 4 business cases over 10 weeks. A multilevel design was employed and a multistage model building approach was used to test the hypotheses using hierarchical linear modeling techniques. Results of this cluster randomized, quasi-experimental design suggest that the team-led guided debrief intervention resulted in superior team processes as compared to the unguided debriefing method. Team processes, in turn, related significantly to greater team performance and increased individual readiness for teamwork and enthusiasm for teaming. Implications for future research and practice are discussed

The impact of shared leadership on teamwork mental models and performance in self-directed teams:

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to clarify the role of shared leadership in self-directed teams by testing its relationship with teamwork mental models and team performance. Data from 40 intact, naturally occurring teams involved in highly interdependent tasks demonstrated that the distribution of informal leadership and whether or not perceptions of leadership were reciprocated among leaders were related to the degree of similarity and accuracy of team mental models as well as subsequent team performance. Specifically, teams with a coordinated type of shared-leadership perception demonstrated significantly higher levels of team mental model similarity, team mental model accuracy, and team performance than teams with a distribution of leaders that failed to recognize each other as leaders as well as teams with no leaders. However, teams with distributed-coordinated leadership were significantly different than teams with centralized leadership only with respect to team mental model accuracy scores. Finally, ...

A Meta-Analysis of Shared Leadership and Team Effectiveness

Abstract: A growing number of studies have examined the ‘sharedness’ of leadership processes in teams (i.e., shared leadership, collective leadership, and distributed leadership). We meta- analytically cumul...

Facilitating team learning through transformational leadership

Abstract: This article investigates when and how teams engage in team learning behaviours (TLB). More specifically, it looks into how different leadership styles facilitate TLB by influencing the social conditions that proceed them. 498 healthcare workers from 28 nursery teams filled out a questionnaire measuring the concepts leadership style, TLB, social cohesion and team psychological safety. Analysis was performed using structural equation modelling. The results of this cross-sectional study show that transformational leadership predicts TLB better then laissez-faire leadership, because transformational leadership is primarily related to team psychological safety and only secondarily to social cohesion while for laissez-faire leadership it works the other way around. Transformational leadership matters because it facilitates psychological safety in the team.

A Contingency View of the Effects of Cognitive Diversity on Team Performance: The Moderating Roles of Team Psychological Safety and Relationship Conflict

Abstract: We examined the moderating roles of team psychological safety and relationship conflict on the relationship between two forms of team cognitive diversity—expertise and expertness diversity—and team performance. We found that when team psychological safety was lower, rather than higher, expertise diversity was more negatively related to team performance, but conversely, expertness diversity was more positively related to team performance. When team relationship conflict was lower, rather than higher, expertness diversity was more positively related to team performance. Our findings advance a contingency view of the effects of cognitive diversity on team performance and suggest several implications for theory and practice.

Transformational Leadership and Team Performance: The Mediating Roles of Cognitive Trust and Collective Efficacy

Abstract: This study explores the relationships among transformational leadership style, cognitive trust, and collective efficacy as well as the impact of these variables on distal team performance. Data col...

Sport team loyalty: integrating relationship marketing and a hierarchy of effects

Abstract: Purpose – Given its importance in the brand management of sport teams, the present research initiative primarily concerns the investigation of the formation process of sport team loyalty. By integrating a hierarchy of effects model into a relational perspective, the study aims to investigate the role of sport consumers' involvement, self-expression, trust and attachment with a sport team in building loyal relationships. A conceptual model is proposed and tested in the context of professional soccer teams. Design/methodology/approach – The data of the study comes from 287 consumers of a South East European country. The fit of the model is tested using structural equation modeling and the statistical program LISREL. Findings – The results confirm that: all the hypothesized constructs constitute either direct or indirect determinants of sport team loyalty; a hierarchy of effects approach, cognition-affect-conation, can explain how strong consumers-team relationships can be developed; and team attachment acts...