1 The 7 Elements of a High Performance Healthcare Team Cohesiveness Healthy Climate Team Members’ Contribution Group Work Skills Shared Leadership Innovative Thinking Change Compatibility

2 Healthy Climate Do team members manage conflict effectively? Do team members foster an environment of openness and trust? Do team members consistently treat one another with equal respect? Healthy Climate refers to how members feel about the way the team functions, including their level of comfort with team norms of behaviour. If the climate is not positive, honesty and openness are lacking and team members may not fully trust and respect one another.

3 Cohesiveness If we were each asked to list team priorities, our lists would be very similar. We have strong, agreed upon beliefs about how to achieve success. Our mandate, goals and objectives are clear and agreed to. Cohesiveness requires agreement and commitment to what the team is in place to achieve (mandate, goals, and objectives), as well as how it will achieve them (values, priorities, and procedures).

4 Group Work Skills We have effective consensus reaching skills. Team members make team meetings a priority. We leave our meetings with a sense of accomplishment. The strength of the Group Work Skills element reflects the quality of decision making and problem solving, consensus reaching, meeting management and facilitation.

5 Team Members’ Contribution Do team members look for opportunities to improve team performance? Do team members take the initiative to do what needs to be done without being asked? Do team members take the initiative to share ideas and concerns? Team members’ contribution measures the degree to which team members individually contribute to the team’s effectiveness.

6 Change Compatibility Do team members effectively support one another through change? Do team members look for ways to make change work? Do team members demonstrate a positive attitude towards change? Change compatibility requires that a team be receptive to change, is able to effectively implement change and can readily adapt to change.

7 Shared Leadership The right people are involved in the right decisions. Do team leaders empower team members to solve problems on their own? Do team leaders seek (and use) input from team members on a regular basis? Shared leadership requires that each team member is appropriately self directed, involved in the decision making process and is an equal member of the team in that their input is both valued and respected.

8 Innovative Thinking In our team risk taking is encouraged. Team members challenge the status quo. Team members challenge one another’s thinking. Innovative thinkers listen openly to ideas with which they may not initially agree, challenge one another’s thinking, make an effort to think innovatively and question the way things have always been done.