High-performance sport management teams: operationalizing cognitive diversity and shared mental models with subject matter experts

The fusion of knowledge from multi-disciplinary subject matter experts (SMEs) is essential in High Performance Management Teams (HPMTs) in sport. HPMTs strive for performance optimization and complex problem solutions. In pursuit of this ambition, HPMTs face the challenge of successfully integrating discipline knowledge from multiple SMEs (e.g., sport scientists, nutritionists, medical staff and coaches) into one congruent performance vision. This paper introduces a novel framework for integrating diverse cognitive skillsets within HPMTs. It explains how Shared Mental Models (SMM) serve as a mechanism to combine knowledge from cognitively diverse SMEs working in HPMTs, ultimately enhancing team performance. The following work is expected to help both professionals and researchers understand the challenges of cognitive diversity in HPMTs and encourage conversations in the community about how specialists from different fields work together in HPMTs in elite sports.