Group Strengths

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The application of a group of individuals’ strengths lies in the awareness of the leadership element of the group itself. The first step in being effective and efficient leaders depends on being able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of everyone in the group. The goal and objective is to synthesize the strengths into something greater than itself.

The strategic approach is very important in realizing the most efficacious benefits within the group. Each action and intention must be able to support the overlying causes of the group’s formation itself. Balance and alignment are key pieces to this puzzle and placing individuals in scenarios where they are set up for success can assist in getting the most out of these people in terms of them contributing to the goal. Individuals often emphasize their perceived weaknesses by working on improving these shortcomings. Contrary to this common belief of self-growth from improving one’s area of weakness, a team of Gallop scientists discovered that people tend to have greater areas of growth when they focused on their strengths (Rath, 2007). 

For the emphasis of this assignment, we studied our group’s complementary strengths, explored what is needed for effective team functioning. The strengths of Achiever, Arranger, and Learner were prevalent among our group and are complementary toward each other. Achievers and Arrangers help to “get things done,” while Learners are necessary for personal development. Learners set goals because they love the process of “getting there.” Achievers set goals out of an internal drive for accomplishment (Rath, 2007, pp. 37, 41, & 133). 

Based upon the Strengths Finder there is one area that our group misses, that of the Influencer. Only one group member scored a small trait in this category. For teams to function effectively there are several key factors that are required (Rath, 2007). Based on the Strengths Finder assessment, our team needs to maximize its ability to communicate. Our group also lacks an Activator or a Command focused person who can drive the process. We could benefit from an Analytical focused person as well as Deliberative themed member to help identify obstacles and a Restorative member to help solve problems (Rath, 2007).

After exploring our group’s complementary strengths, we found that we shared many of the same qualities. These shared strengths are beneficial when working as a team, especially with our proposed missing strength, that of communication (Rath, 2007). By developing this missing strength, we may be more able to effectively bridge the gap between the strengths that separate us from our goal of providing maximized team functioning and thus overall team effectiveness. Assigning individual responsibility amongst a group can itself be a group function. Teamwork can be applied by assigning individual functions within this mission making the experience that much more representative of a total true team effort.

Handoff Strategies

Handoff communication must be clearly defined to avoid serious consequences to the transferring patient between Emergency Departments (EDs) and other facilities, whether internal departments or external facilities (Bright & Long, 2015; Stratis Health, n.d.). Ethical principles require consideration overseeing the way patients are handed off to improve patient outcomes by reducing medical errors thus avoiding any negative consequences to the patient (Stratis Health, n.d.). Since the patient is the essential component of any handoff, developing a comprehensive yet brief analysis helps to ensure patient well-being. 

Striking a balance between brevity and comprehensiveness requires training and cooperation among team members, particularly in fast-paced emergency departments. Reduction in handoff time can be accomplished through devising a standardized handoff form that allows personnel to communicate with the receivers in concise, but accurate detail. The form allows one sentence to record the patient’s chief complaint, another sentence for a patient’s pertinent medical history, recent lab results, and another and last sentence for a final assessment prior to handoff. 

A further significant feature of a successful handoff is that it must occur in a quiet space. Within busy and hectic emergency rooms, this may not always be a viable option, but the handoff team should locate the most efficacious situation possible. A quiet location, one in which both teams can ensure they understand the patient’s immediate requirements, will increase the ability of teams to communicate quickly, complete a successful handoff, and allow for both sides to act strategically (Stratis Health, n.d.). A noisy atmosphere is counterintuitive to effective communication which is an essential tool for effective handoffs (Franz, 2012; Stratis Health, n.d.). This is a proven strategy in many EDs and since our team scored high in strategic thinking on the matrix, we appreciate the wider picture for implementing this strategy in handoff situations (Long & Bright, 2015; Rath, 2007). 

Our team will begin applying this strategy using the Plan-Do-Study Act (PDSA model) which was created as a shorthand method for planning, action, and observing results which can be adjusted for the achieving the best outcome in any procedure. In this case the procedure involves designing and acting upon the best way to create and establish patient handoffs from one team to another. The goal for any effective patient handoff is to develop a paradigm that provides a clear foundation for a patient’s well-being, clinical care, and other medical procedures necessary for re-establishing patient health. For our team leadership and effective communication require further training since these characteristics are at the forefront of any seamless transition and handoff in patient care. 

The application of a group of individuals’ strengths lies in the awareness of the leadership element of the group itself. The first step in being effective and efficient leaders depends on being able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of everyone in the group. The goal and objective is to synthesize the strengths into something greater than itself.

The strategic approach is very important in realizing the most efficacious benefits within the group. Each action and intention must be able to support the overlying causes of the group’s formation itself. Balance and alignment are key pieces to this puzzle and placing individuals in scenarios where they are set up for success can assist in getting the most out of these people in terms of them contributing to the goal. Individuals often emphasize their perceived weaknesses by working on improving these shortcomings. Contrary to this common belief of self-growth from improving one’s area of weakness, a team of Gallop scientists discovered that people tend to have greater areas of growth when they focused on their strengths (Rath, 2007). 

For the emphasis of this assignment, we studied our group’s complementary strengths, explored what is needed for effective team functioning. The strengths of Achiever, Arranger, and Learner were prevalent among our group and are complementary toward each other. Achievers and Arrangers help to “get things done,” while Learners are necessary for personal development. Learners set goals because they love the process of “getting there.” Achievers set goals out of an internal drive for accomplishment (Rath, 2007, pp. 37, 41, & 133). 

Based upon the Strengths Finder there is one area that our group misses, that of the Influencer. Only one group member scored a small trait in this category. For teams to function effectively there are several key factors that are required (Rath, 2007). Based on the Strengths Finder assessment, our team needs to maximize its ability to communicate. Our group also lacks an Activator or a Command focused person who can drive the process. We could benefit from an Analytical focused person as well as Deliberative themed member to help identify obstacles and a Restorative member to help solve problems (Rath, 2007).

After exploring our group’s complementary strengths, we found that we shared many of the same qualities. These shared strengths are beneficial when working as a team, especially with our proposed missing strength, that of communication (Rath, 2007). By developing this missing strength, we may be more able to effectively bridge the gap between the strengths that separate us from our goal of providing maximized team functioning and thus overall team effectiveness. Assigning individual responsibility amongst a group can itself be a group function. Teamwork can be applied by assigning individual functions within this mission making the experience that much more representative of a total true team effort.

Handoff Strategies

Handoff communication must be clearly defined to avoid serious consequences to the transferring patient between EDs and other facilities, whether internal departments or external facilities (Bright & Long, 2015; Stratis Health, n.d.). Ethical principles require consideration overseeing the way patients are handed off to improve patient outcomes by reducing medical errors thus avoiding any negative consequences to the patient (Stratis Health, n.d.). Since the patient is the essential component of any handoff, developing a comprehensive yet brief analysis helps to ensure patient well-being. 

Striking a balance between brevity and comprehensiveness requires training and cooperation among team members, particularly in fast-paced emergency departments. Reduction in handoff time can be accomplished through devising a standardized handoff form that allows personnel to communicate with the receivers in concise, but accurate detail. The form allows one sentence to record the patient’s chief complaint, another sentence for a patient’s pertinent medical history, recent lab results, and another and last sentence for a final assessment prior to handoff. 

A further significant feature of a successful handoff is that it must occur in a quiet space. Within busy and hectic emergency rooms, this may not always be a viable option, but the handoff team should locate the most efficacious situation possible. A quiet location, one in which both teams can ensure they understand the patient’s immediate requirements, will increase the ability of teams to communicate quickly, complete a successful handoff, and allow for both sides to act strategically (Stratis Health, n.d.). A noisy atmosphere is counterintuitive to effective communication which is an essential tool for effective handoffs (Franz, 2012; Stratis Health, n.d.). This is a proven strategy in many EDs and since our team scored high in strategic thinking on the matrix, we appreciate the wider picture for implementing this strategy in handoff situations (Long & Bright, 2015; Rath, 2007). 

Our team will begin applying this strategy using the Plan-Do-Study Act (PDSA model) which was created as a shorthand method for planning, action, and observing results which can be adjusted for the achieving the best outcome in any procedure. In this case the procedure involves designing and acting upon the best way to create and establish patient handoffs from one team to another. The goal for any effective patient handoff is to develop a paradigm that provides a clear foundation for a patient’s well-being, clinical care, and other medical procedures necessary for re-establishing patient health. For our team leadership and effective communication require further training since these characteristics are at the forefront of any seamless transition and handoff in patient care.

References

Franz, T. M. (2012). Group Dynamics and Team Interventions: Understanding and Improving Team Performance. John Wiley & Sons.

Jackson, R. (2014). A Study of the Relationship between Key Influencers as Motivators to Attendance, behavior, Engagement, and Academic Achievement Among Middle School Students in Metropolitan Atlanta Georgia. Electronic Theses & Dissertations Collection for Atlanta University & Clark Atlanta University (4).

Long, B. & Bright, J. (2015). ED handoffs: The problem and what we can do improve. EMDocs. Retrieved from http://www.emdocs.net/ed-handoffs-the-problem-and-what-we-can-do-to-improve/

Rath, T. (2007). Strengths Finder 2.0. New York, NY: Gallup Press.

Stratis Health. (n.d.). Quality Improvement Toolkit for Emergency Department Transfer Communication Measures. Retrieved from http://www.stratishealth.org/documents/ED_Transfer_QI_Toolkit_Communication_Measures.pdf