TEAMWORK: Required for Success in the ICU and at SCCM
David Julian Martin, CAE
In all types of organizations, from factories to offices to hospitals, people work to produce the goods and services essential for life. How well and how much they produce depends on their knowledge, skill, creativity, commitment and attitude as well as the technology available to them and the work environment created by management.
Typically, people work in small groups with common functions. Since people think, feel and respond according to their personalities, they sometimes do not consider the benefits of supporting and cooperating with others to achieve a common goal. Take, for example, the first practice of any athletic team. Some players have considerable talent; others have less. The group will not have much success until they are motivated to work toward a common goal. A skilled coach will be able to pool their talent and train them to play together, with players compensating for strengths and weaknesses of others.
A work environment operates much the same. The results achieved by the establishment are seldom the outcome of one person’s talents. Each person is influenced by the attitudes and actions of coworkers and managers. If the work environment is positive, a person tends to be productive. The same is true in the intensive care unit (ICU) and at the Society of Critical Medicine (SCCM) headquarters.
The issue of teamwork is complicated further by the fact that teamwork, no matter how well coordinated, is benefited by ensuring that diversity is incorporated into the team’s overall design. A team of professionals with the same background may work well together, but a team made up of professionals with many different backgrounds can produce better results.
While this issue of Critical Connections is dedicated to the important topic of teamwork, today I wanted to tell you how work is accomplished at the SCCM headquarters. At SCCM, we practice what we preach!
The staff at most healthcare association headquarters is organized by department to support the major functions of the organization. Similarly, SCCM’s headquarters is organized into departments such as meetings, publications, program development, marketing and finance. Additionally, SCCM employs cross-departmental teams to support each of our more than 50 ongoing activities. For example, to develop and produce the SCCM Summer Conference successfully, a staff person from each department is selected to be part of the project team, which is headed by a trained and experienced team leader. A multiprofessional team of members also is assembled to ensure the program considers all aspects of the subject. This multiprofessional team of member volunteers works closely with the multiprofessional staff team to make sure SCCM delivers an outstanding educational event. This model is replicated for all programs and activities at SCCM. Though it is very complex, the model ensures the right mix of staff and member professionals is assembled so the best possible outcomes are achieved. Achieving success using this model requires a considerable effort. Those with no experience in this area might believe it is simply a matter of assigning individuals to the task. However, if the group has not been trained in this mode of multiprofessional teamwork, significant challenges can arise. To that end, SCCM provides a number of ongoing training opportunities for the entire SCCM staff, so they can learn to work together as part of these multiprofessional staff and member teams. Team members learn basic skills and how to utilize those skills during everyday practices. To keep skills sharp and to resolve issues as they arise, SCCM has a professional team-building coach. The coach works collaboratively with individuals that need assistance and provides individual teams support as needed. Throughout the year, general team building and training activities are organized to reinforce the knowledge and skills of team members and to develop strong team leaders.
Our team leaders follow Posner’s and Kouzes’ Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership¹
MODEL the Way
INSPIRE a Shared Vision
CHALLENGE the Process
ENABLE Others to Act
ENCOURAGE the Heart.
These important team leadership skills apply to every task regardless of where an activity occurs. Several reasons exist as to why staff members simply do not organize their departments around SCCM’s programs and activities. First, SCCM’s activities change and develop over time. The ability to group individuals by professional background, such as marketing, meetings or finance, permits people to share their professional experience and knowledge with others from similar educational backgrounds, to improve their skills and to coordinate activities with all departments. The professional departments of marketing, meetings, finance and others are needed as well as multiprofessional teams of staff and members to support SCCM’s many activities.
Never before has multiprofessional teamwork been so important to the function of successful organizations. With rapid social and technologic changes, society faces more stress than ever. Organizations are more complex and more competitive. These changes, coupled with a shifting population, a global economy, a change in work ethic and the idea that successful teams must be made up of a diverse individuals, result in a rising demand for new organizational structures and a new definition of good leadership results. A new organizational structure has come into its own — the multiprofessional team. The multiprofessional team increases commitment, unleashes creativity, builds skills, improves performance and achieves the best overall results.