The Surgical Team
The members of the surgical team consist of the surgeon, the surgeon’s assistant, a scrub nurse, a cardiac anesthesiologist, and a perfusionist technician. Each of these individuals brings their own area of expertise to the team. The conventional heart surgery relies on each member performing his or her task, as it relates to the area of their own expertise. The new procedure introduces a dynamic that requires the team members to be more interdependent and collaborative within the group. The surgical teams will need to learn adapt to the new requirements, and challenges that are present in the new procedure, in order to be successful (Edmondson, Bohmer, & Pisano, 2001, p. 125).
The leadership style of the team leaders needs to allow for
communication between members, encourage ideas to improve processes and be receptive to change. The surgical teams that viewed the new procedure as a simply an extension of the old or, “. . . as a plug-in component in an otherwise unchanged procedure”, were met with frustration and resistance from their team members (Edmondson, Bohmer, & Pisano, 2001, p. 130). Learning the new procedure together, promoting a positive attitude of the challenge ahead, and recognizing the contributions made by team members are necessary for the team to succeed.
Business team leaders usually have some choice in determining their team’s combination of skill sets and area of expertise; however, the team members required for the surgical procedure are already defined. Successful business teams often have managers that were specifically hired for the ability to manage teams, but in the area of medicine, “. . . team leaders are chosen more for their technical expertise than for their management skills” (Edmondson, Bohmer, & Pisano, 2001, p. 126). The surgical team leaders that had little initiative in choosing their team members and had to rely on the available staff at the time of the procedure; yet, the teams that collaborated together selected members that were competent, team oriented, and showed a willingness to adapt to new situations and offer suggestions to help others (Edmondson, Bohmer, & Pisano, 2001, p. 130).
The leadership style of the team leaders needs to allow for
communication between members, encourage ideas to improve processes and be receptive to change. The surgical teams that viewed the new procedure as a simply an extension of the old or, “. . . as a plug-in component in an otherwise unchanged procedure”, were met with frustration and resistance from their team members (Edmondson, Bohmer, & Pisano, 2001, p. 130). Learning the new procedure together, promoting a positive attitude of the challenge ahead, and recognizing the contributions made by team members are necessary for the team to succeed.
Business team leaders usually have some choice in determining their team’s combination of skill sets and area of expertise; however, the team members required for the surgical procedure are already defined. Successful business teams often have managers that were specifically hired for the ability to manage teams, but in the area of medicine, “. . . team leaders are chosen more for their technical expertise than for their management skills” (Edmondson, Bohmer, & Pisano, 2001, p. 126). The surgical team leaders that had little initiative in choosing their team members and had to rely on the available staff at the time of the procedure; yet, the teams that collaborated together selected members that were competent, team oriented, and showed a willingness to adapt to new situations and offer suggestions to help others (Edmondson, Bohmer, & Pisano, 2001, p. 130).