Characteristics of Effective Inter-Professional Team Work

This article discusses the characteristics of effective inter-professional team work in healthcare settings. It explores the importance of organizational structure, individual contributions, and team processes in improving coordinated patient care and achieving maximum productivity.

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Characteristics of Effective Inter-Professional Team Work.
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With a key aim of achieving maximum productivity, individuals emanating from various
professions in the healthcare fields find it necessary to join efforts and work together. This
subsequently leads to the formation of teams, defined as small groups of people in possession of
complementary skills and are focused on achieving a common goal through means that they view
themselves as equally liable (Tilin & Morgan, 2016). In many occasions, teams are a system of
three stages comprising of an input where resources are used, a throughput for maintaining
internal processes, and an output where specific outputs are produced. With this model in mind,
the characteristics of an effective inter-professional ream are largely determined by how
resources are effectively utilized as well as how internal processes are conducted to achieve
maximum output (Tilin & Morgan, 2016). On the other hand, the effectiveness of teams is
evaluated by measuring the outcomes and their correlation to predetermined goals. As such, the
characteristics of effective teamwork are based on organizational structure, the individual
contribution of team members and the team processes involved.
Organization structural characteristics of a successful inter-professional team are majorly based
on the stability of coordination and control procedures (Drinka & Clark, 2016). First, such a team
must have a clear purpose. It is either through particular behaviors or explicit mission statements
that organizations are pervaded. As such, it is essential for organizations to maintain clear visions
covering their values which are subsequently synchronized and communicated through mission
statements. Teams are consequently able to derive vivid and measurable goals based on these
statements (Slusser, et al., 2018). In healthcare settings, precisely, a common commitment
towards patients’ needs by all professions to be incorporated into a team facilitates the
achievement of a goal agreement. An inter-professional team, for example, working in a mental

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health department needs to have a clear purpose of improving the conditions of all patients with
the final goal being achievement of the patients’ wellbeing.
Another organizational characteristic is an appropriate culture. It is vital for organizations to
recognize and integrate teams in accordance with the organizational culture (Higgs, et al., 2018).
The mechanisms of accountability, as well as the expectations of all teams, should be clearly
defined by the organization's management. Additionally, shared values should be transformed
into behavioral norms based on the existing organizational culture. When the organization is
experiencing economic hardships, for example, inconsistency between norms and cultural
conflicts in inter-professional teams should be tamed by maintaining an effective balance
between the organization’s mission and clinical standards (Drinka & Clark, 2016).
The ability of an organization to outline distinct roles for all members of an inter-professional
team is another organization characteristic of an effective team (Zaccagnini & White, 2014). The
roles to be undertaken by each individual should be clear and understandable to all team
members to avoid role conflict and ambiguity (Zaccagnini & White, 2014). The duties to be
undertaken by nurses from each specialty, for example, should be clearly defined to avoid
duplication of tasks. As such, adequate flexibility should be maintained in developed roles to
accommodate membership changes, needs for personal development as well as interpersonal
differences between various team members.
Suitable leadership is another key component in an organization’s structure that largely
determines the effectiveness of inter-professional teams. As the complexity and dynamism of a
team’s goals increases, the more such a team requires a stronger and more resilient leader
(Finkelman & Kenner, 2009). Team leaders play a significant role in maintaining a strategic
focus to facilitate the setting of goals, compel and evaluate achievements while at the same time

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supporting the vision and mission of the organization. An effective inter-professional team is
characterized by a leader with the ability to delegate in an appropriate and responsible manner
(Weiss, et al., 2014). Consequently, the confidence and autonomy of team members in their work
increases.
In addition to organizational structure, various contributions of individuals play a significant role
in increasing the effectiveness of inter-professional teams (Croker, et al., 2016). First is self-
knowledge. Upon joining a team, each member brings with him/her a unique position and
personality that bears a reciprocal impact on the team functionality. Individuals' independence
and self-awareness, for example, are crucial before each member can be productive, satisfied and
express respect to others. There are four key images contributed by an individual to a team. They
are; professional expectations, professional and personal self-image, a perception of how other
members view the individual and a vivid understanding of colleagues’ responsibilities and skills
(Croker, et al., 2016).
Trust is another individual contribution to the team’s effectiveness. Competence and self-
knowledge are two key factors that give rise to trust (Hamric, et al., 2009). Since team members
have varying assumptions, competencies, and priorities, it is essential to be confident in each
other's reliability and competency for trust to be slowly nurtured in an inter-professional team. In
a team where trust is prevalent, for example, members are always readily willing to share
possessed skills and knowledge without fear of exploitation or diminishment. Respect for other
team members’ expertise and skills usually comes hand in hand with trust and plays a significant
role in increasing the learning capacity of individuals (Mosser & Begun, 2013). Development of
trust is fuelled by recognition and appreciation of how each member uniquely contributes to the
achievement of coordinated patient care.

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Another essential individual contribution that facilitates the effectiveness of inter-professional
teams is commitment (Oster & Braaten, 2015). The main building blocks of individual
commitment towards the achievement of team goals are the ability to trust others and self-
knowledge. Motivation and purposeful direction among team members emanate from their
commitment towards an integrated set of goals. In healthcare settings, for example, unanimously
believing that coordinated care can be efficiently delivered through teamwork as well as sharing
a common goal of achieving comprehensive patient care perfectly generates commitment among
all individuals (Duffy, 2013). Through individual commitment, members are more ready to
participate in decision making as well as personally invest in team affairs.
The third building block of effective inter-professional teams is team processes (Heinemann &
Zeiss, 2012). The most vital one is coordination which simply refers to the orderly planning of
interpersonal actions necessary for the performance and completion of complex tasks. To ensure
proper utilization of knowledge and skills expertise, it is vital for inter-professional teams to
minimize the individual differences while at the same time harnessing a wide variety of
members’ know-how (Reeves, et al., 2011). It is also worth noting that coordination needs to be
consistent throughout the development and evolution stages of an inter-professional team.
Having a common understanding of the organizational culture and the team’s purpose, for
example, creates a sense of acceptance and recognition of costs and advantages of teamwork
among members and thus facilitating coordination.
Proper communication among members is another team process that characterizes effective
inter-professional team. This factor involves subtle interactions of values, attitudes, and power as
well as a notable interchange of information (Lake, et al., 2015). For effective communication to
occur within the team, delegation must occur appropriately with all responsibilities and roles

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clearly defined. Enhancement of communication is achievable through the development of
mutual knowledge which ensues attentive listening and collaboration among team members.
Communication can also be enhanced by both informal and formal idea sharing as well as joint
decision making. Meetings, for example, form the major route of communication among inter-
professional teams and should, therefore, have well-defined agendas where all members are
encouraged to contribute to the listed topics of discussion (Thistlethwaite, 2012).
For an effective inter-professional team to prevail, all decision-making processes should be
sound and leading to worthy action taking. With various members in possession of varying skills
and knowledge, more expounded information is available which subsequently leads to the
generation of more legitimate and justifiable decisions (Woodruff, et al., 2013). The
developmental stage and the nature of the team's purpose brings out varying needs to the team
and thus necessitating diverse types of decision-making processes. In healthcare settings, for
example, the use of democratic voting schemes leads to low acceptance of the decisions arrived
at while as well as low participation. Simultaneously, this method reduces the occurrence of
interpersonal conflicts and lowers the time taking in the entire decision-making process (Elwyn,
et al., 2016). On the other hand, full involvement of team members in the entire decision-making
process leads to the formulation of informed decisions that in turn increases the commitment and
productivity of team members.
Lastly is conflict management. Due to the diverse views and assumptions of different members
of an inter-professional team, conflicts are inevitable. Such conflicts should be effectively
managed and integrated into the group’s undertakings for the promotion of effective problem
solving and encouragement of creative contributions to prevail among team members (Mosser &
Begun, 2013). In inter-professional healthcare teams, sole perception of other members’

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intention and values based on ones’ preference and professional viewpoint is the leading cause of
destructive conflicts. It is therefore essential for teams to have mediation strategies among other
conflict resolution methods to avoid negative implications of conflicts (Yoder-Wise, 2018).
In conclusion, a team has been defined as a small group of people in possession of
complementary skills and are focused on achieving common goals through means that they view
themselves as equally liable. The key aim of the formation of inter-professional teams in
healthcare settings has been identified as improving coordinated patient care and achieving
maximum productivity. The essay has therefore identified organizational structure, individual
contribution of team members, and the team processes involved as the key building blocks of
effective inter-professional teams.

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