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The purpose of this presentation is to identify and describe key strategies that enhance and build effective healthy lifestyles intervention research teams that include investigators, project staff, undergraduate and graduate nursing students, and high school teachers.
Rationale/Background
The creation and sustainability of a highly effective participatory, multifunctional and multidisciplinary intervention research team begins with a group of dedicated and enthusiastic people working together to achieve a common goal. An effective team has certain characteristics that allow the team members to function more efficiently and productively. An effective team develops ways to clearly communicate, share leadership roles and ways to share accountability for their efforts. Team organization enhances problem solving via negotiation and conflict resolution techniques and plays a central role in planning and implementing the necessary phases of the research protocol.
Methods/Results
Twelve Tips for Team Building: How to Build Successful Work Teams by Susan M. Heathfield and the essential components for successful team building described by Klein and colleagues (2009) will be discussed utilizing exemplars from our experience with numerous intervention research studies. These distinct models of team building strategies include goal setting, interpersonal relations, role clarification and problem solving.
Implications
In an academic environment that focuses on healthy lifestyle intervention research, achieving results, meeting personal and project goals and accomplishing daily tasks can be enhanced by incorporating team building strategies.
Heathfield, S. (2009). Twelve tips for team building: How to build successful work teams. Retrieved October 16, 2010 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/twelve_tip_team.htm
Klein, C. (2009). Does team building work? Small Group Research, 40, 181.