Is there a “Big Five” in Teamwork?

TLDR

Teamwork research has been fragmented and its findings are largely impractical. The article proposes that teamwork can be distilled into five core components—the “Big Five”—and offers propositions for future research. The authors identify five core components—team leadership, mutual performance monitoring, backup behavior, adaptability, and team orientation—and examine how they rely on coordinating mechanisms such as shared mental models, closed‑loop communication, and mutual trust, whose importance shifts over a team’s life cycle and task.

Abstract

The study of teamwork has been fragmented through the years, and the findings are generally unable to be used practically. This article argues that it is possible to boil down what researchers know about teamwork into five core components that the authors submit as the “Big Five” in teamwork. The core components of teamwork include team leadership, mutual performance monitoring, backup behavior, adaptability, and team orientation. Furthermore, the authors examine how these core components require supporting coordinating mechanisms (e.g., shared mental modes, closed-loop communication, and mutual trust) and vary in their importance during the life of the team and the team task. Finally, the authors submit a set of propositions for future research.