Performance implications of leader briefings and team-interaction training for team adaptation to novel environments.

TLDR

The study examined how leader briefings and team‑interaction training shape team members’ mental models of effective performance in routine and novel settings. A low‑fidelity tank simulation with 237 undergraduates in 79 three‑member teams manipulated leader briefings, team‑interaction training, and environmental novelty. Both leader briefings and team‑interaction training enhanced mental models, which in turn improved communication and performance, especially in novel environments.

Abstract

The authors examined how leader briefings and team-interaction training influence team members' knowledge structures concerning processes related to effective performance in both routine and novel environments. Two-hundred thirty-seven undergraduates from a large mid-Atlantic university formed 79 three-member tank platoon teams and participated in a low-fidelity tank simulation. Team-interaction training, leader briefings, and novelty of performance environment were manipulated. Findings indicated that both leader briefings and team-interaction training affected the development of mental models, which in turn positively influenced team communication processes and team performance. Mental models and communication processes predicted performance more strongly in novel than in routine environments. Implications for the role of team-interaction training, leader briefings, and mental models as mechanisms for team adaptation are discussed.