Here, you can read about how to ensure your successes permanently :
1. We Start With a Team Training
Have you ever taken part in a practical team training focusing on the principles of crew resource management? Or in any other type of team training? Or have you simply got a lot of experience from your daily team work?
1.1. What the Training Is Like
For all of you who haven´t experienced a CRM training yet, we want to look at a medical training scenario as an example. That way, we can compile step by step, how major successes are achieved. Furthermore, we will learn how to analyse and repeat them.
Let´s imagine an emergency department where nurses and doctors treat a severely ill patient together. An actress mimes the patient.
Instructors watch the team and pay particular attention to teamleading and teamwork. For example, they focus on communication and application of the CRM principles, such as wise use of all resources and workload management.
1.2. The Road to Brilliant Coups Is Rocky
As no one is born a master, even this professional and experienced team makes some mistakes.
For instance, pieces of information are lost, and relevant announcements, such as blood values, go unnoticed. Consequently, necessary conclusions are not drawn.
Sometimes, uncertainty about workload management occurs. Therefore, some tasks are not performed, while others are done redundantly, for instance, the preparation of a medical procedure.
Ideally, all resources are used, including all team members´ efforts, every piece of information, and technical equipment. As you can imagine, in a complex situation, this is not always easily accomplished at the right time.
The aim of CRM is that team members discover errors early and correct them before these errors have any impact on their patients.
2. We Work Towards Successses During the Debriefing Session
During the debriefing session, the instructors and the team discuss the items which the members can still improve.
When we are taking part in a debriefing session ourselves, we often recognise immediately where we went wrong. Small mistakes may appear so large that great achievements seem to be marginal in comparison.
In addition, videotapes of the scenario are sometimes shown. This may feel embarrassing as we seldom think that we are shown in the most favourable manner.
Thus, a debriefing session following a training scenario is not the most relaxing experience, no matter how much the instructors care about creating a pleasant and constructive atmosphere.
However, we can only improve by analysing our mistakes and their underlying causes together.
3. Finally, We Achieve a Brilliant Coup
Having gone through many scenarios and debriefing sessions, one day we perform THE team training. We carry out everything perfectly, from communication to fulfilling the task successfully.
According to our experience, such a successful scenario is seldom analysed in-depth during the debriefing session. Either because the team is well known for being great, or it has simply performed everything perfectly this time.
So what should we talk about? Let´s rather spend our time analysing scenarios that require improvement.
However, why were we so successful as a team in this case? Was it by chance? Or are we a real dream team that owns a secret recipe for success?
In order to find out, we need to analyse our successfully performed scenarios in the same way as the ones we have to improve.
4. We Analyse Our Brilliant Coup
Exemplarily, we will shed light on the topics already mentioned above, communication, workload management, and the use of resources.
We will also discover how the CRM principles as such help us to perform the task.
4.1. Communication Without Loss of Information
Safe and Effective Communication
As team members we have delivered clear messages making sure that the others listened to them actively and acted accordingly.
Closed Communication Loops
Closed communication loops play a major role in communication without loss of information. When we receive a message, we repeat what has been said.
Using this type of feedback together with the sender, we ensure that the content of the message came across as intended. Besides, we have the opportunity to question a message.
Speak up
Every team member is allowed to speak up at any time. Thus, we guarantee that every team member´s possible concerns are heard and evaluated. Exploring such concerns and taking action where necessary, we avoid making - potentially momentous - mistakes.
4.2. Wise and Clearly Communicated Workload Management
Everyone was always adequately busy, no one had too much or too little to do at any time. The tasks matched the respective knowlegde and the skills accordingly and did not overstrech anyone.
Our team leader always had a good overview over all the tasks. He or she distributed them and received confirmation once they were finished. Those who had too many or too difficult tasks let the team leader know, as well as the ones who were available to take on new jobs.
4.3. Use of All Available Resources
As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, everyone of us was involved in the teamwork at all times. Furthermore, we made use of all available pieces of information and our technical resources.
5. Now We Can Repeat Our Major Success
Analysing our in this case perfect use of the CRM principles, we find out why our teamwork went smoothly and why we were able to perform our task safely and in a structured manner.
If we understand why we were successful, we know that our success was not due to luck. Rather, we know that we are able to repeat our brilliant coup and even build on it.
6. We Transfer Major Successes From Team Training Into Daily Life
We can transfer the analysis of brilliant coups from CRMtraining into many areas of our daily lives.
What situations, which you have mastered superbly together with others, cross your mind? What was the secret of your success?
7. In Our Next Blog You Can Read About:
We apply knowledge, skills, and the right attitude during our teamwork. Which of these three essential ingredients is the most difficult one to optimise?
Author: Eva-Maria Schottdorf
Date: February 9th 2021