Trying to determine which three of the many ground rules that Spath (2013) lists in the text is the most important was not an easy task. They are all important to the effective functioning of a team to carry out its purpose. However, closer reading made three of those rules stand out. The first is “actively listen to and consider the opinion of others” which seems related to the second one which is “be open-minded to new thoughts and different behaviors” (Spath, 2013, p. 165). The third rule is “accept conflict and its resolution as necessary catalysts for learning” (Spath, 2013, p. 165). The reason these three stood out arises from past experiences working on group projects in classes. One of the most frustrating aspects of working on group projects is when one person has an idea about how a project should look or how it should go that does not sync with the group’s plan or consensus. In one group project I worked on, one member of the group decided that the PowerPoint presentation should be organized one way, but the rest of the group disagreed. The dissenter would not listen to the rest of the group or consider their opinions because they were so certain their way was the right way. That person would make changes to the presentation without the consent of the rest of the group; this was disruptive since it meant we had to stop whatever other aspect of the project we were working on to deal with that problem.
Finally, another team member came up with an alternative that the rest of the group thought the dissenter would accept. We were wrong; the person was so attached to their idea of how the presentation should look that they could neither consider the rest of the group’s input nor even consider an alternative that to the rest of us appeared to be a good compromise. While it was inevitable that we would not all agree on everything, and I’m sure most of us expected some conflict, we did not anticipate this level of conflict. For the rest of us, that conflict was a learning experience. Admittedly, it spurred the team member who developed the alternative to consider solutions to the conflict, so in a sense it served as a catalyst for creative thought and development. However, the dissenting team member did not seem to appreciate how their actions negatively affected the whole team and how the conflict they caused undermined the team’s effectiveness.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"The Role of Leadership and Collaboration in Healthcare Improvement".
If I were the leader of the team described in the assignment and encountered these problems, there are a few things I would do. First, I would present the study by Godlock, Christiansen, and Feider (2016) as an example of what can be effectively accomplished when team members follow through on the tasks they are assigned and properly assume responsibility for their part of the team. I would also likely show them Atul Gawande’s (2012) video to highlight the positive impact pit crews can have over cowboys; I think Gawande’s (2012) video would have a significant impact, given that it focuses on healthcare. Second, I would reiterate the importance of each of their assigned tasks to the larger project and how their participation in the form of those tasks was designated a high priority. While I’m sure additional paperwork in the form of the post-fall checklist used by Godlock, Christiansen, and Feider (2016) was the last thing the nurses and healthcare professionals in that study wanted, the outcomes of the study revealed how important it was.
Again, given the safety concerns outlined by the Godlock, Christiansen, and Feider (2016) article as well as the problems Gawande (2012) discusses, using those resources as prompts for the team would be useful. Additionally, in this step, I would query the team members as to what was getting in the way of their completing their assigned tasks with an eye towards developing solutions as a group. Third, I would express my concerns regarding their failure to arrive on time to meetings and to return my phone calls. I would express my disappointment and, again, ask what was getting in the way of their appropriate participation with an eye towards developing solutions as a group.
- Gawande, A. (2012, April 16). Atul Gawande: How do we heal medicine? [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3QkaS249Bc - Godlock, G., Christiansen, M., & Feider, L. (2016). Implementation of an evidence-based patient
safety team to prevent falls in inpatient medical units. Medsurg Nursing: Official Journal of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, 25(1), 17-23. - Spath, P. (2013). Introduction to healthcare quality management (2nd ed.). Health Administration
Press.
