The Impact of Child and Family Team Composition on Wraparound Fidelity: Examining Links Between Team Attendance Consistency and Functioning

Although a growing body of literature has examined wraparound implementation and fidelity, child and family team (CFT) members’ levels of participation and the consistency of their attendance have not been systematically examined. This study explored the relationship between CFT member attendance consistency and the fidelity of wraparound team level implementation processes in a System of Care (SOC). Specifically, utilizing Participant Rating Form (PRF) data collected from caregivers, facilitators, youth, supportive persons, and service providers, as well as meeting attendance records, the relationship between team attendance consistency and fidelity of wraparound implementation was explored. Records for 88 teams, with a total of 2,643 members’ ratings of CFT meetings between 2004 and 2009, were examined. Analyses indicate that the structural team factors of attendance consistency and mean team members present relate to CFT members’ ratings of team functioning and the degree to which meeting processes are consistent with the tenets of wraparound. Team attendance variables related to the views of meeting functioning by facilitators, service providers, and caregivers, the individuals most often responsible for implementation of the plan of care, but not ratings by youth or supportive persons. These findings have implications for policy and the successful implementation of wraparound, underscoring the relevance of attending to and tracking the composition of the CFT and more actively encouraging consistent meeting attendance. Results also highlight the need to measure structural variables that may have salience in fidelity and implementation assessments and, more globally, the effectiveness of SOCs.     

Increasing Youths’ Participation in Team-Based Treatment Planning: The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Achieve My Plan</Emphasis> Enhancement for Wraparound

Wraparound is a frequently implemented approach for providing individualized, community-based care for children and adolescents with serious mental health conditions and, typically, involvement in multiple child—and family-serving systems. Both Wraparound’s principles and its theory of change stress the importance of youths’ active participation throughout. However, research focusing on the experiences of youth in Wraparound indicates that they are often not particularly engaged in the process or participating actively with their teams, and the findings point to a lack of alliance between the young people and their teams. This article describes a randomized study testing the Achieve My Plan (AMP) enhancement for Wraparound, which is intended to increase young people’s satisfaction, active engagement and self-determined participation in Wraparound, as well as their alliance with the team. Study findings showed that, relative to youth who received “as usual” Wraparound, young people who received Wraparound with the AMP enhancement participated more—and in a more active and self-determined manner—with their teams. They also rated their alliance with their Wraparound teams significantly higher. Furthermore, adult team members in the intervention condition rated team meetings as being more productive, and they were more likely to say that the AMP meetings were “much better than usual” team meetings. Findings support the idea that it is possible—using a low-cost, low-“dose” intervention—to enhance young people’s self-determination and their engagement in Wraparound without detracting from team functioning or the satisfaction of other team members.     

Reliability of the Wraparound Observation Form: An Instrument to Measure the Wraparound Process

Within the past decade, the wraparound approach has gained significant popularity in providing services to children with challenging social and family needs. While a plethora of wraparound programs have been developed and studies have been conducted to assess their effectiveness, the need to develop instruments that measure the implementation of wraparound services is clear. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the reliability of a scale that measures wraparound services. In this study, the Wraparound Observation Form (WOF), was developed to evaluate the implementation of the wraparound process in treatment planning meetings. The WOF includes 34 closed-ended items that requires the respondent to note the occurrence or non-occurrence of specific events or behaviors at treatment planning meetings. In the present study, two data collectors attended planning meetings and independently completed the WOF. The inter-rater reliability was 95%. The WOF appears to be a reliable instrument and be appropriate in evaluating wraparound services.     

Does diversity in team members’ agreeableness benefit creative teams?

Although deep-level diversity among team members are often discussed as important catalysts of team creativity, little is currently understood about the impact of diversity in team members’ personality on team creativity and team satisfaction. We propose that diversity in team members’ agreeableness would reduce the effectiveness of creative teams through its impact on team conflict experienced. To test our hypotheses, we recruited 93 student teams to participate in a laboratory study where each member had their personality traits assessed before engaging in a team creativity task. We found that diversity in team members’ agreeableness was positively associated with team task conflict experienced which, in turn, was negatively associated with team creativity. Additionally, we found that diversity in team members’ agreeableness was positively associated with team relationship conflict, which, in turn, was negatively associated with team satisfaction. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Perceptions of Family Environment and Wraparound Processes: Associations with Age and Implications for Serving Transitioning Youth in Systems of Care

Addressing the unique needs of youth transitioning to adulthood has long been viewed as a priority in implementation of systems of care (SOCs) and wraparound. Developmental research and "practice-based evidence" suggest that there are differences between transitioning youth and their younger peers in family environment and wraparound team processes. Although these differences are thought to have significant implications for wraparound practice, few studies have examined them empirically. The present research involves two studies examining differences across several age cohorts (i.e., 10–12, 13, 14, 15, 16–17 year-olds) ranging from early adolescent to transitioning youth in: (1) caregiver perceptions of role-related strain and family environment quality, and (2) facilitator, caregiver, and youth perceptions of wraparound processes. In Study #1, older age was associated with higher levels of caregiver strain. In Study #2, age was associated with differences between youth and other team members' perceptions of wraparound processes, such that older youth perceived teams as less cohesive than others on their teams. These findings suggest that transitioning youth and their families merit special consideration in wraparound implementation and underscore the importance of considering the perceptions of transitioning youth in system change and practice improvement efforts (192 words).     

What Motivates People to Participate More in Community‐based Coalitions?

The purpose of this study was to identify potential opportunities for improving member participation in community-based coalitions. We hypothesized that opportunities for influence and process competence would each foster higher levels of individual member participation. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of 818 members within 79 youth-oriented coalitions. Opportunities for influence were measured as members' perceptions of an inclusive board leadership style and members' reported committee roles. Coalition process competence was measured through member perceptions of strategic board directedness and meeting effectiveness. Members reported three types of participation within meetings as well as how much time they devoted to coalition business beyond meetings. Generalized linear models accommodated clustering of individuals within coalitions. Opportunities for influence were associated with individuals' participation both within and beyond meetings. Coalition process competence was not associated with participation. These results suggest that leadership inclusivity rather than process competence may best facilitate member participation.     

EFFECTS OF ROTATED LEADERSHIP AND PEER EVALUATION ON THE FUNCTIONING AND EFFECTIVENESS OF SELF-MANAGED TEAMS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENT

In a quasi-experiment of 38 self-managed undergraduate teams, we examined the effects of team designs that differed with respect to the form of member evaluation and team leadership. Relative to teams that relied on external evaluations, teams with peer evaluations had higher levels of workload sharing, voice, cooperation, performance, and member satisfaction. Relative to teams that relied on leader emergence, teams that rotated leadership among members had higher levels of voice, cooperation, and performance. Overall, results of the study demonstrate the potential importance of team-design decisions in self-managed teams.     

The role of network therapy in the treatment of relational disorders: Cults and folie a deux

This article discusses the successful outcome of a network intervention in a case of cult-involvement andfolie a deux. The intervention, specifically designed to help a family in which one member had become involved with an individual who claimed to be the Messiah—an involvement that entailed the exclusion and alienation of all other family members—used a team of network specialists and consisted of a pre-network planning meeting, the network meeting itself which included approximately 70 persons over four hours, and several follow-up meetings with network subgroups.     

Attitudes toward interdisciplinary collaboration in pupil personnel services teams

A scale designed to measure the extent of collaboration of pupil personnel services teams was validated against a judge's rating of collaboration and the existence of regular planning meetings between pupil personnel services teams and school personnel. The judge's ratings and the collaboration scale scores varied in the classification of one team, which suggested two differing definitions of interdisciplinary collaboration to be further explored. The semantic differential responses of school personnel indicated that high collaboration teams in high input schools were seen as more independent and more cooperative than were the low collaboration teams and were reported as functioning more often as a team than as individuals.     

The Role of Fidelity and Feedback in the Wraparound Approach

Wraparound approaches are being implemented with children in many mental health systems around the country. Evidence for the effectiveness of the wraparound approach, however, is limited. In addition, the degree to which wraparound interventions adhere to the principles of wraparound has rarely been assessed. We examined the influence of adherence to wraparound principles and outcome feedback within the wraparound approach. Children participating in family team meetings were enrolled in a feedback or no feedback condition. Teams receiving feedback were given a brief report regarding outcome progress four times over a three-month period. In addition, adherence to wraparound principles was assessed in the initial team meeting and examined in relationship to outcome at three months and nine months. Although youth in both feedback and non-feedback groups improved with intervention, there were few differences between the groups based on outcome feedback. Similarly, adherence was uniformly high and did not influence the outcome for individual cases. Although the wraparound approach was helpful for youth in our sample, outcome feedback and adherence to wraparound principles had limited influence on these effects.     

Group decision making in the planning team process: Myth or reality?

Based upon theories from organizational psychology, this study assessed the relationships among school staff role, participation, and satisfaction during planning Team meetings which decide special education placements and programming. A strong positive relationship was found between staff role and participation. Regular education teachers were lowest in participation and satisfaction whereas school psychologists were ranked the highest on both variables. Other staff roles did not necessarily show a one-to-one relationship between participation and satisfaction levels, yet within roles, the level of satisfaction increased with higher levels of participation. These findings were discussed in the context of interdisciplinary decision making and implementation of the placement team decision.     

Meeting the need or falling in line? The effect of laissez-faire formal leaders on informal leadership

We consider the utility of two contrasting theoretical perspectives in explaining how laissez-faire formal leaders and team member motivation to lead (MTL) influences informal leadership and team task performance. The first perspective, functional leadership theory, is the dominant lens used currently to understand informal leadership. However, we suggest that social learning theory offers a compelling alternative account. In a multiwave survey study of 344 members of 72 work teams, we find support for the social learning theory predictions that laissez-faire formal leaders are perceived by team members to engage in less modeling of effective leadership and as a result are negatively associated with informal leadership and team task performance. We do not find support for the functional leadership theory predictions that laissez-faire formal leaders are positively associated with team members’ informal leadership and team task performance, which would be due to an increased perceived need for leadership. The social learning effects are stronger for teams that are lower in member MTL and weaker for teams that are higher in member MTL. These results suggest social learning theory may be preferable to functional leadership theory for understanding informal leadership in teams.     

Investigating a process model for leader affective presence,interpersonal emotion regulation,and interpersonal behaviour in teams

Leader affective presence is the tendency of leaders to elicit feelings that are consistent among other individuals, and has been supported as a relevant personality trait for understanding teamwork. Drawing on a model that integrates personality and emotion regulation, this study aimed to expand research on affective presence by proposing team members’ perceptions of leader interpersonal emotion regulation as a process that explains how leader affective presence is related to team member behaviour. In the model, teamness—the perception that interdependence and reflexivity are required in the team—is presented as a boundary condition to the effects of affective presence via emotion regulation. Results of a study conducted with 99 teams showed that team member ratings of leader positive affective presence were linked to their perceptions that leaders had used affect-improving emotion regulation which in turn was associated with greater team citizenship behaviour. Contrariwise, team member ratings of leader negative affective presence were associated with perceived use of affect-worsening emotion regulation by leaders which in turn was associated with lower levels of team citizenship, but only when teams were low in teamness. These findings contribute to understanding how leaders’ individual differences are related to teamwork through affective processes.     

Effectiveness in top management group meetings: The role of goal clarity,focused communication,and learning behavior

Bang, H., Fuglesang, S. L., Ovesen, M. R. & Eilertsen, D. E. (2010). Effectiveness in top management group meetings: The role of goal clarity, focused communication, and learning behavior. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 253–261. To explore the relationship between goal clarity, focused communication, learning behavior, and team effectiveness (i.e., task performance, relationship quality, and member satisfaction), self‐report and observer data from eight top management groups that processed 56 agenda items during meetings were analyzed. We found that goal clarity and focused communication was positively related to team effectiveness. The effect of goal clarity on team effectiveness was partially mediated by focused communication. Speaking up when a goal was unclear increased focused communication, task performance and relationship quality. Speaking up when the discussion was off track was not related to task performance and member satisfaction, and was negatively related to relationship quality. These findings have implications for how to conduct an effective management meeting.     

The role of decision influence and team performance in member self-efficacy, withdrawal, satisfaction with the leader, and willingness to return

This study examines team performance as a moderator of the relationship between decision influence and outcomes relevant to team effectiveness in hierarchical teams with distributed ex pertise. In this type of team staff members have unique roles and make recommendations to the team leader, who ultimately makes the team's final decisions. It is suggested that the positive rela tionship between decision influence and favorable outcomes (e.g., satisfaction) consistently described in the literature is dependent on team performance in this type of team. Specifically, team effec tiveness outcomes are proposed to be consistently more favorable in higher performing than in lower performing teams. Decision influence is proposed to relate positively to member satisfaction with the leader, willingness to return, and self-efficacy and to relate negatively to withdrawal in higher performing teams. The opposite pattern of relationships is expected in lower performing teams. A laboratory study was conducted with 228 undergradu ates performing a computer task as subordinates in 76 four-person teams with a confederate leader. The results generally support the hypotheses and illustrate a dilemma for leaders attempting to manage team effectiveness.     

Team Performance and Satisfaction: A Link to Cognitive Style Within a Process Framework

Effective teamwork is becoming increasingly important to organizational success. Advances in network and communication technology have allowed companies to widen their potential team member base, however we still need to better understand how to structure top-performing teams. This paper proposes forming teams based on their cognitive style, rather than personality, within a process framework. An experiment was conducted to investigate the innovative performance of problem solving groups with three different blends of cognitive styles. As predicted, groups with a heterogeneous blend of styles outperformed groups with completely or partially homogeneous blends. On the other hand, team members' satisfaction scores were lower for heterogeneous teams than either the completely or partially homogeneous teams. There was preliminary evidence that among groups with heterogeneous blends, those with smaller style dispersions might be expected to outperform those with larger style dispersions. There was also room for some speculation that a curvilinear relationship might exist for team members' satisfaction as a function of diversity in team member cognitive style. Implications of these finding are discussed.     

Taking a deeper look inside autonomous and interdependent teams: why,how, and when does informational dissimilarity elicit dysfunctional versus beneficial effects

ABSTRACT

Organizations increasingly use cross-functional teams, characterized by autonomy and interdependence, to improve innovation and to adapt to a dynamic business environment. Based on this trend, prior research started to investigate informational dissimilarity (employee’s dissimilarity relative to teammates regarding education, job specialization, and expertise) in teams. Two key team outcomes are 1) team members’ satisfaction with the team and 2) the team’s proactivity. Paradoxically, some researchers reported dysfunctional informational dissimilarity effects on employee outcomes, while some reported beneficial effects. To integrate opposing informational dissimilarity effects, we apply the categorization-elaboration model of team diversity. We theorize that perceived informational dissimilarity can elicit simultaneously dysfunctional effects on satisfaction with the team and beneficial effects on the team member’s proactivity. We specify the mechanisms of both effects by investigating the mediating roles of peer unfairness (representing dysfunctional informational dissimilarity effects) and information elaboration (representing beneficial informational dissimilarity effects). To reconcile these contradicting processes, we analyse the role of trust. We conducted a survey study at three different measurement time points with team members from different organizations. The results indicate that trust in teammates dampens dysfunctional informational dissimilarity effects and amplifies beneficial effects.     

Antecedents of daily team job crafting

This study investigated potential antecedents of team job crafting defined as the extent to which team members engage together in increasing (social and structural) job resources and challenges, and decreasing hindering job demands. Mindful of the teamwork literature, we hypothesized that individual employee factors (self-efficacy for teamwork, daily affect), team features (team cohesion, climate) and the organizational context of teams (engaging leadership and organizational resources for teamwork) relate positively to daily team job crafting behaviour. Data were collected among 46 multi-professional rehabilitation teams whose members completed two daily surveys after their weekly meetings. Multilevel regression analyses showed that self-efficacy for teamwork and team members’ positive affect were positively associated with team job crafting behaviour at the individual (within-team) level. In addition, a team climate characterized by a clear vision of the teams’ targets, supportiveness and innovation and connecting leadership were positively related to daily team job crafting at both the within- and between-team levels of the data. Overall, the study offers novel insights into the antecedents of teams’ daily job crafting behaviours. For practice, the results suggest that actions and interventions conducive to positive team processes offer the most promising route to enhancing team job crafting behaviour.     

When and how do differences matter? An exploration of perceived similarity in teams

In this paper, we directly assess perceived similarity—the degree to which members view themselves as having few differences—because we want to understand when teams notice diversity on various member characteristics and how they interpret it. Our results indicate social category diversity was related to initial estimates of both perceived social category similarity (SCS) and perceived work style similarity (WSS). And, whereas perceived SCS did not change over time, perceived WSS decreased significantly over the period of our study. We suggest this change in perceived WSS can be explained by an information-processing/decision-making framework. We found informational diversity was positively related to conflict in teams, and in turn conflict was negatively related to subsequent estimates of perceived WSS. However, informational diversity was positively related to information sharing in teams, which in turn was positively related to subsequent estimates of perceived WSS. Finally, these updated estimates of perceived WSS affected subgroup formation and team process effectiveness. We discuss how our research explores the subjective experience of diversity by team members, provides a dynamic view of the relationship between diversity and team outcomes, and informs emerging theory about the activation of faultlines in teams.     

Dynamics between Member Replacement and Team Performance: The Role of Members’ Relative Attributes

Analysing the 367 member replacement acts in the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament, we uncover important dynamics between member replacement and team performance. We find that poor team performance leads to substitutions with more competence gains (or with less competence loss), that substituting and substituted members’ functional background dissimilarity improves subsequent content‐related team performance (i.e. scoring more goals), and that their competence superiority is associated with the speed of team performance turnaround (i.e. scoring goals faster). Going beyond contrasts between teams with and without membership change, the paper highlights the importance of substituting and substituted members’ relative task‐related attributes and provides a more nuanced understanding of the complex phenomenon of team membership change. Furthermore, the paper extends the methodological spectrum of dynamic team composition research from predominantly laboratory experiments with short‐lived student groups performing cognitive tasks to field studies with real‐life work teams performing action tasks.