The Seven Cs of Teamwork by Eduardo Salas, PhD

At the 10th Annual Midwest Interprofessional Education and Practice (MIPERC) conference in Grand Rapids, MI. The focus of the conference was to highlight the need for clinicians to understand each other’s areas of expertise and work together effectively to achieve optimal patient outcomes. One of the keynote speakers at this year’s conference was Dr. Eduardo Salas, who has a BA in psychology and is a professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Salas focuses on teamwork and has over 450 publications on this topic, as well as several books. He is in great demand for his help in developing equipment in a wide variety of industries. NASA is using its experience to help identify the psychological strengths and abilities of its Mars team. As he recounted at the conference, this will be a team of five to seven astronauts who will live in a very close environment for about 30 months. Not only will they live in close quarters, but they will have limited communication with Earth once they are on Mars due to the time it takes for a message to travel between the two.

Dr. Salas also works with the Houston Oil and Refining Industries to help develop processes and teamwork so workers can be evacuated from oil rigs when hurricanes approach. Work with hospitals to improve teamwork.

Dr. Salas can gain buy-in from CEOs and leaders of organizations because all of his work is evidence-based and cost-saving. CFOs are often asked what the payoff is for organizations that follow their advice. He is able to demonstrate that the groups he works with reduce costs by 20-25% by developing effective teams. With physicians, it has significantly reduced mortality in hospital settings while improving outcomes.

Dr. Salas says there are 7 key C’s for teams to be successful. They are Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, Cognition, Coaching, Conflict and Conditions.

Cooperation it is based on the attitudes and beliefs of individual team members and is shared by the entire team. Team members focus on success as a team and work together effectively. There is a strong level of trust. This confidence leads to psychological security, a key ingredient of any effective team.

Coordination Team members monitor each other to help each do their best. The team members are very conscientious and know the role of each of the other members and each is ready to help another member if help is needed. Good teams work so well together that if a mistake is made, the members work collectively to overcome it without hesitation.

Communication that is to say what needs to be said at the right time. Some think that communication is the key to good teamwork, but Dr. Salas says this is not as important as other C’s. He once observed a surgery in which hardly a word was spoken and the result was remarkable. As each member of the team knew their own role very well and understood the role of the other members of the surgical team, there was no need for much communication. The surgical process flowed smoothly with only the occasional input from a team member.

Cognition it is mastery and skill in one’s own team role. That is, each team member is highly competent to complete their own task for the process in which the team is involved. The team member is not only an expert in their own work, but also has a great understanding of team rules, team resources, and mission.

Training it is the role of a team leader (s) and leadership at the team site. Good coaches work with team members to build efficiency and cohesion. They encourage each team member and work hard to build trust among team members, to increase the psychological safety of each member.

Conflict it is the successful resolution of tensions that can arise in any team. Rather than avoiding tension, a team leader addresses it and helps come to a resolution so that the team can continue to work together effectively. Good team leaders overcome any defensive attitude among members that may arise from conflict and ensure that psychological security is strengthened.

Terms and Conditions it is the environment in which the team exists. A positive attitude toward teams by leadership at a site encourages the continued development of effective teams. Leadership provides support by providing the resources necessary for teams to prosper and achieve their goals.

This is just a quick review of the fundamentals of Dr. Salas’s work. Teamwork can be taught and learned. For a more detailed study of his work and his recommendations for team building, you can access many of his articles for free here.

I recently participated in a group that met to develop a survey instrument to evaluate the success of our group’s work in educating students with special needs. Four of us were present, one was the project leader, with whom I have worked for many years and whom I see as one of the most effective leaders I have ever met. Each one knew that the others worked for this project. I have visited the instructional sites where two of our team members have worked with these students. Before starting the day’s task, I explained to the group the objectives:

1. Meeting the needs of the students’ full-time teachers.

2. Measure the key elements of what our group teaches.

3. Develop questions that are capable of detecting growth in students.

4. Comply with the requirements of the project funders.

The team agreed to these goals and the work went smoothly, although we did not always agree during the development process. Because we had a lot of respect for each other and because of effective leadership, we created two instruments that we believe will be effective. Our work as a group reflected the guidelines of Dr. Salas.

Through my years of attending MIPERC conferences, I see how important teamwork is to achieving any worthwhile goal in healthcare and business in general. As Dr. Salas demonstrated, much better results are achieved when teams work together effectively. I think your 7 Cs provide a good idea of ​​how to work well together. These benchmarks along with the WADA STEPS forward The module on team culture will help practice sites to achieve their objectives.

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