The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) is one of the largest professional organizations in academic medicine, comprising faculty clinicians, chairs, administrators, division directors, and educators. AAIM’s annual meeting in New Orleans just wrapped up, and I was fortunate to represent Iowa for the first time. One of the things that hit me very quickly is just how many of us there are, sharing the same ultimate goal: a sustainable system that delivers efficient and effective care to our patients, motivates scientific advances and allows the next generations of learners to expand our horizons. That system means both helping our patients toward better health as much as supporting our providers toward sustainable careers. Many of the conversations were about the tools and methods that can make that goal more easily achievable. In every one of those talks, the common denominator is the solutions’ reliance on effective teams for implementation.
I had already been thinking about what qualities define an effective team. Where is the line between productive friction and unhelpful disagreement? (You can read my thoughts on what constitutes effective conversations here.) I’ve even been thinking more granularly, for example, about what constitutes an effective meeting schedule and agenda. How often should a project’s team meet, in what format, and when are we all just saying the same things over and over? These details may seem small, but they end up defining how we feel about our work, what inspires and motivates us to give a lot or a little to a project. So, before I offer some examples of good teamwork I’ve seen around the department, I want to challenge each of you to think about this, and tell me, broadly or specifically, what makes a good team? I would love to use this space to share more of YOUR voices. You can even remain anonymous if you want, but these channels have got to become more of a community in conversation, not just one-way. Coincidentally, space for all voices and ideas is a hallmark of an effective team!
Photo for Reflection
It would be easy to repeat the standard cliches about clear goals, defined roles, or building accountability measures as metrics for successful teams. It is not that those aren’t true, they really are. But I want to propose one that does not float to the top of a lot of lists. A strong team is built on joy. We have to take the time, even a few moments to bunch together and snap a selfie or group shot. These documents of moments are evidence, to me at least, that however serious the work is that we do, we can still acknowledge the good fortune we have in being here at this moment. There is pleasure to be had in each other’s company and in our shared purpose. The acknowledgement can take many forms. Maybe a lunchtime baby shower for someone on your team or celebrate someone’s promotion or a recent publication. At the very least, sometime soon I hope you can look at the coworkers around your office or the conference room table or the lab or clinic space and think to yourself, “We have all worked hard to get here, and I am lucky to know and lean on these talented and dedicated people. We are right where we are meant to be.” Each of you is a crucial member of the team’s success. I hope you acknowledge it and celebrate it.
Upi’s “Oh, WOW” moment
Another often-overlooked quality of an effective team is one that plans for the future. As members of an academic medical center, we know that our work must be measured in decades not just fiscal quarters. We will always have a patient population who needs our wisdom, experience, and healing touch. We will always have new mysteries to unlock in the lab because the best answers to research questions are ones that lead us to new questions. And we will always have a new generation of physicians and scientists to train. Our work must continue long past us. As someone reminded me recently, this is not a marathon, but a relay race. Careful succession planning is evident in the baton that Dr. Pat Hartley passed to Dr. Chris Iverson in Occupational Health. I appreciated learning more in that linked piece as well about the work that Dr. Claudia Corwin is doing in the field, quite literally. Although this team of physicians working in the unit is just a trio, there are many others who are aiding in their good work, as well, all of them protecting the health of Iowa’s workers.
The often-quoted phrase by John Maxwell “teamwork makes the dream work” is very true to me. The team, the dream, the success. Keep it up, team!
