Teamwork: Performing on a Work

Teamwork: Performing on a work team

Occasionally, it surprises people to hear that work teams are a critical part of the busy optometrist's practice where I work. Beyond the expected medical duties that make up the heart of the physician's practice, many different individuals are required to make the office functional. The billing department, the administrative assistants, and the various technicians at the office must all work together to ensure that the office can serve patients from the moment an appointment is recorded on the computer system to any questions patients might have about insurance coverage after a visit. This collective 'team' has shown manifested success because of our mastery of what has often been called the '3 Cs' of teamwork: we have clear goals about what a good experience of a patient should resemble over the course of a visit, context (each team member knows what must be his or her unique contribution to the team), and commitment to the goal of quality service (Heathfield 2008). For the most part, we all like and fundamentally respect one another as individuals and for our contribution to the office.

Of course, when the office has to embark upon more concentrated short-term projects, a more formal approach to teamwork is required, similar to what Bruce Tuckman has called the 'forming, storming norming, and performing' model of teamwork (Tuckman, 2008, Businessballs). For example, when introducing a new computer system, all of the employees had to come together to form a group to discuss our different needs, some of which were in conflict, and the individuals orchestrating the change had to exercise a great deal of control over our meetings, given the uncertainty during this 'forming' process. During the 'storming' there was a great deal of resistance to the change, and discomfort with the new roles members in the organization would be forced to play during the transition. Next, during the norming process as we learned how to operate and implement the new system, we were able to exercise more control over the new program would fit into our work life. Because we had worked well together on a daily basis before, the team was able to reach this stage fairly quickly, and exhibit signs of strong team 'health,' such as a tolerance of different points-of-views, the ability to compromise and reach a consensus, the willingness to disagree openly with other yet change one's mind without a loss of face -- and to make independent decisions without always resorting to hierarchical leadership. During the 'performing' part of the teamwork process, we were no longer intimidated and members of the administrative and billing staff were able to trouble-shoot certain problems with the it department without feeling foolish about their lack of computer know-how -- we were certain we 'knew our stuff' where it counted. During the performance period, after the system was integrated and our input had been taken into consideration, we felt as if we had made a positive contribution to the standard operating procedures of the office, and were 'performing' as a unit once again, without outside assistance as to how to use the new computer system.