ABSTRACT
A frustrated manager in our exploratory study said, “Why can’t they get their act together?” Let’s assume that the team’s problem with realizing coordinated performance in the action phase is not due to poor team design. In this chapter, the problems with carrying out routine tasks in a coordinated manner are explained by team processes. Effective teamwork requires team members to have a collective understanding of what to do, and how. It is described how the process of building shared meaning develops over time and becomes a knowledge structure that regulates performance. Cognitive, affective and behavioural processes are interlinked, and the chapter shows how these are related to corresponding emergent states that regulate the coordination of work. Our contribution lies in targeting both emergent states and processes that lead to (or constrain) smooth teamwork, and showing how these can be developed through different interventions.
