Interprofessional healthcare teams contribute to safe and effective patient care. Challenges faced by healthcare teams are complex and require intentional skill development. Without an intentional focus on developing and improving healthcare professionals’ ability to perform in teams, organizations leave themselves open to errors, near misses, burnout, and decreased satisfaction with patients and among employees. Understanding what might be inhibiting team performance may provide a team with insight into what can be done to improve performance.

Breakdowns or threats to the seven drivers of team effectiveness can limit the success of healthcare teams. By identifying the concerns associated with ineffective team collaboration, leaders can design effective strategies that improves team performance, and ultimately, patient outcomes. Realistic and practical ideas for improvement in team performance may prove valuable in addressing team performance and removing barriers hindering effective collaborative care.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to

• Describe the seven drivers of team effectiveness.
• Self-assess the extent to which their team demonstrates the seven drivers.
• Reflect on barriers and enablers to team effectiveness in their setting and in relation to the Team Learning Inventory.
• Generate short- and longer-term action items for their team(s) using peer-to-peer coaching strategies.