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Rationale/Background: A multitude of individual characteristics, personal goals, and work strategies can be difficult to manage, particularly within a diverse team. Four interaction processes within a team that serve to support innovation have been identified (i.e. goal setting, interpersonal relations, role clarification and problem solving). Appropriate application of these processes is essential to encourage success at the individual, team, university, and societal levels.
Brief Description: We focused on applying team building principles to overcome “character builders” facing a research team. Two common obstacles (e.g. dealing with team member turnover and taking into account perspectives of research investigators and field staff) are addressed in relation to the introduction and application of the interaction processes. Because team turnover has the potential to negatively impact team innovation and productivity, the interaction processes of exchanging information and learning were used to circumvent these problems. Meanwhile, the interaction process of negotiating was used to work through conflicts related to varying perspectives from research investigators and field staff.
Outcomes: Our large team of faculty, staff, and students has been successful at advancing nursing science by collecting, entering, analyzing, publishing, and presenting data from 7 research projects over the last year. Beyond a productive research team, we have fostered a collegial work environment, promoting individual job satisfaction and commitment to shared team goals.
Conclusions: Implementation of team building principles to “character builders” is an effective strategy to promote and preserve team innovation, productivity, and a healthy workplace environment. Because issues such as team turnover and conflict can undermine individual/team efforts, this interaction process framework should have long-term effects on individual/team goal achievement.