Is The High-performance Team High Performing?

INTRODUCTION: The Oxford dictionary defines “team” as a group of individuals that form one or an individual who becomes a component of a larger, more complex whole. For the High-Performance Team (HPT), it’s a collection of individuals with different experiences, disciplines, and philosophies who unite under one cause. Yet with the rapid growth of HPTs over the last decade, teams of multidisciplinary clinicians are finding it increasingly difficult to work as one. PURPOSE: We will discuss common barriers a HPT may encounter, opportunities to overcome said barriers, and review suggestions from literature on the impact of alignment and a shared vision. METHODS: A review of the literature supplemented with recent clinical practices. RESULTS: One of the most challenging aspects of working in high stress environments is the dynamic obstacles clinicians face daily. Poor comprehension of roles, lack of expectation, subpar communication, and ego all negatively impact the group. Creating a Circle of Safety1 may be a key component in allowing team members bandwidth to identify threats on the horizon. Tim Gabbett et al. suggested seven strategies to maximize skills and mitigate unwarranted conflict.2 In addition to valuing relationship, echoed by Burns et al.,3Gabbett emphasized integrating knowledge from all specialties and leveraging wisdom of the team.2 When teams combine their knowledge, skills, and perspective, they function as a cohesive, singular unit.5 Teams that are maximizing the abilities of their multidisciplinary members are improving return to sport outcomes8 and overall success9 via collective intelligence.7 Another common characteristic within this is what Ekstrand terms transformational leadership.9 Jim Collins refers to it as Level 5 Leadership.6 Others simply refer to it as a ‘system’ to emphasize the importance of each component interacting with another.10,11 CONCLUSION: We must remain open to each team member’s experience and practice. It is easy to fall into a ‘research-only’ based approach where if it hasn’t been tried and tested, we do not accept it into practice. However, Opar and Rio eloquently mention the importance of compromise, experience, and perspective by reminding us there has never been a randomized controlled trial demonstrating parachutes are advantageous if you jump out of a plane.14