Effective self‐regulating teams: a generative psychological approach

Team Self-Maintenance during Long-Duration Space Exploration: A Conceptual Framework

OBJECTIVE

We developed a conceptual framework of Team Self-Maintenance (TSM) within long-duration space exploration (LDSE), which we define as the process of monitoring, adjusting, and maintaining the psychological well-being of a team in the absence of external support.

BACKGROUND

Specific to LDSE and isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments, periods of routine can have a debilitating effect on the crew's well-being and performance, and TSM is a critical process for avoiding these detrimental effects.

METHOD

Based on themes drawn from nine subject matter expert interviews combined with an extensive literature review on related concepts, we developed an integrative conceptual framework of the key inputs, processes, and outputs involved in TSM within LDSE contexts.

RESULTS

Our TSM framework suggests team well-being as a key outcome that must be maintained during LDSE and information sharing, self-regulation, resource recovery, and emotional support as the key processes that enable team well-being. We also identify several contextual inputs that can serve as intervention points for enabling effective TSM.

CONCLUSION

Our framework suggests that future research and practice aimed at effective LDSE should emphasize team well-being, rather than just performance, and that there are many open questions in terms of how teams will manage their own socio-emotional needs (e.g., conflict, recovery activities, and boredom) without external systems and support.

APPLICATION

This conceptual framework describes the primary inputs, processes, and outcomes involved in the team self-maintenance process. This framework reflects context-specific theorizing most likely to be applicable only to LDSE contexts.

Atitudes e Habilidades Sociais para Trabalho em Equipe: Desenvolvimento de uma Escala

Resumo Este estudo objetivou desenvolver uma escala de medida com foco em componentes afetivos de competências (atitudes e habilidades sociais) para Trabalho em Equipe (AHTE), em grupos de pesquisa. A escala foi desenvolvida com base em pesquisas anteriores e nos estudos de Odelius e Sena (2009) e Odelius et al. (2011). Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevistas, que submetidas à análise de conteúdo, subsidiaram a elaboração de questionário. Este, após ser submetido à análise semântica e teórica, foi testado e depois respondido por 396 participantes de grupos de pesquisa. A análise fatorial policórica revelou o agrupamento das competências em quatro fatores (abertura à diversidade humana, habilidades sociais, cooperação, responsabilidade), responsáveis por 55% da variância total explicada, com índice de confiabilidade α = 0,96. Os resultados são parcialmente semelhantes aos realizados em outros contextos. Ao final, são apontadas direções para realização de novas pesquisas.

Teamwork in Integrated Design Projects: Understanding the Effects of Trust, Conflict, and Collaboration on Performance

Teamwork during integrated design projects is complex. We address this by investigating how trust, collaboration, and conflict evolve over time to affect performance. Our results stem from data gathered using validated self-report questionnaires with 38 participants in 5 multidisciplinary teams at three points in time during a 6-week integrated design competition. Results show that without collaboration, trust and conflict have no bearing on performance. In addition to an unambiguous practical outcome—fostering collaboration helps build trust and manage conflict—our study points to theoretical developments: as trust- and conflict-performance relations grow over time, so does collaboration's mediating effect.