ABSTRACT
While teams can yield an impressive array of results, the actual truth is that teams of experts sometimes fail with disastrous consequences for those directly involved and indirectly vested. Tragic team failures abound in the public (e.g., the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s leadership team’s response to Hurricane Katrina) and private sector (e.g., the 160 fatalities attributed to crew teamwork failures aboard American Airlines flight #965 — December 1995). Why do teams of well-intentioned, highly motivated, seasoned professionals fail on the grandest stages and what can be done about it? Clearly, the answers to these questions are complex, but insight is afforded by both the science of teams and the science of team training (Salas and Cannon-Bowers, 2001). The principles, guidelines, and lessons learned in these domains can be applied to transform a team of experts into an expert team.
