Sourcebook : Improving Care for the End of Life : 11.2 Team-Building Strategies

A team-building focus can pay off in several ways. As individuals become more effective in working with other team members, the team becomes more effective. The team can learn how to examine its own work and progress and identify areas for improvement.

Breakthrough Series faculty member Connie Jastremski recommends that organizations recognize the following trigger points that indicate a need for team building:

Decreased productivity or effectiveness
Increased number of complaints about staff or quality of care
Conflicts among staff members
Confusion about assignments or unclear roles
Decisions that are misunderstood or are not carried through properly
Apathy or lack of interest and involvement among staff members
Ineffective staff meetings; low participation in group decisions
Start-up of a new group that needs to develop quickly into a team
High dependency on or negative reactions to the manager

If a team decides to engage in a team-building process, it should be sure to establish objectives for it, such as:

Write a mission and purpose statement for the team.
Establish roles and responsibilities for team members.
Develop a conflict-management procedure.
Examine and improve the team's problem-solving strategies.
Improve the group's communication skills.
Develop respect, if not actual friendship, among team members.

Table 11.1 Staff Training Modules
Module 1	Module 2	Module 3
Introduction Why teams? Team definitions Factors affecting team development and function Developmental phases of interdisciplinary teams Types of leadership roles	Communication and collaborative problem-solving Group process and team facilitation Conflicts and resolution Styles of dealing with conflict Avoidance	The PACE model of care Roles of team members Individual discipline vs. team problems/goals Resource allocation and risk management
Reprinted with permission of On Lok Senior Health Services

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This online version of the book Improving Care for the End of Life: A Sourcebook for Health Care Managers and Clinicians is provided with permission of Americans for Better Care of the Dying [ www.abcd-caring.org ] and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

For further information on quality improvement in end-of-life care visit The Palliative Care Policy Center [ www.medicaring.org ].