Study: Great teams think alike

Editor's Note

Greater sharing of team mental models (ie, shared understanding of team members) leads to better team performance, this study finds.

The study also found that team mental models predicted team performance over time.

The study involved 30 interns participating in a simulation training program.

The findings suggest that engaging in team-based simulation may accelerate the process by which surgery teams are able to develop shared knowledge and improve team performance, the authors say.

Team mental models represent the shared understanding of team members within their relevant environment. Thus, team mental models should have a substantial impact on a team's ability to engage in purposeful and coordinated action. We sought to examine the impact of shared team mental models on team performance and to investigate if team mental models increase over time as teams continue to work together.