| Budget cuts, staffing shortages, and the rapid growth and deployment of technology have forced a number of major academic research libraries to rethink the way they operate. In response, many of these libraries have restructured their business processes forming groups of individuals or teams to accomplish their goals. Academic medical libraries have been somewhat slower to use teams to accomplish certain tasks. Groups of individuals working together, however, do not necessarily comprise a team. J. R. Hackman of Harvard University, who takes a multi-dimensional approach to team effectiveness, argues that three outcome criteria can be used to create a team: (1) the product that exceeds customer expectations; (2) growth capabilities exist over time; and (3) a satisfying and meaningful group experience for team members. He then suggests five conditions that lead to team effectiveness: (1) having a real team, (2) setting a compelling direction, (3) establishing an enabling team structure, (4) having a supportive organizational context, and (5) offering expert coaching. This study investigates the use and effectiveness of teams in medical libraries and relates its findings to Hackman's five conditions, related questions, and conception of team effectiveness. The study also explores a new dimension of team effectiveness and links Hackman's conditions operationally to his outcome criteria for this theory. |
