ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses team cross-training as a mechanism to foster effective team processes. It explores how cross-training impacts perceptions of communication processes, group cohesion, team trust, and collective efficacy, as well as how cross-training influences team performance. There are a variety of cross-training techniques. E. Blickensderfer and colleagues discussed three types of cross-training: positional clarification, modeling, and rotation. Team inputs can include variables that range from the personalities of team members to team composition factors. Team process variables often revolve around issues of communication, cohesion, and trust. The air defense task was designed to create moderate intra-team interdependence and collaboration by distributing asset and battlefield information to specific team members, with access to this information dictated by team role. This is a good scenario to study constructs such as trust, since team members needed to rely on their teammates to facilitate optimal team performance.
