Teaming by Eimi Edmondson
Teaming by Eimi Edmondson
Eimi Edmondson - organizational behavior
Eimi E. is known for her work in the areas of teaming and learning in organizations.
She has conducted research on how feedback processes can enhance team performance and learning.
Some key themes in Edmondson's work related to feedback and teaming include:
Psychological safety
Learning from failure
Teaming across boundaries
Leadership's role
Psychological safety:
How creating an environment where team members feel safe to give and receive feedback can improve team performance.
'Psychological safety', according to Eimi E., is a shared belief held by team members that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. Her research suggests that when team members feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to engage in behaviors that can improve team performance, particularly around giving and receiving feedback. It is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.
In psychologically safe environments, team members are more likely to:
Offer constructive criticism
Ask for help when needed
Admit errors and discuss mistakes openly
Share innovative ideas without fear of ridicule
Teams with high psychological safety tend to improve performance:
Learn from failures more effectively
Innovate more frequently
Adapt to changes more quickly
Make better decisions due to diverse input
Leaders play a crucial role in fostering psychological safety by:
Modeling openness to feedback
Encouraging input from all team members
Framing work as learning problems, not execution problems
Acknowledging their own fallibility
Factors that can hinder psychological safety:
Hierarchical structures
High-stakes environments
Cultural norms that discourage speaking up
Edmondson's research suggests that by creating an environment where team members feel safe to give and receive feedback, organizations can significantly improve team performance, learning, and innovation.
Learning from failure:
The importance of open feedback discussions about failures to promote team learning and innovation.
Failure as a Learning Opportunity:
Edmondson argues that failures, when handled correctly, are valuable sources of information and catalysts for innovation.
She emphasizes that the traditional view of failure as something to be avoided can hinder organizational learning and progress.
"Intelligent Failure":
Failures that occur as a result of thoughtful experimentation and risk-taking.
These failures are seen as valuable because they generate new knowledge and insight.
Discussions:
Edmondson found that teams that feel safe discussing failures openly are more likely to learn from them.
In psychologically safe environments, team members are more willing to admit mistakes and discuss what went wrong without fear of repercussion.
Leadership:
Leaders play a crucial role in fostering an environment where failure is seen as a learning opportunity.
Edmondson's research shows that leaders who model openness about their own mistakes and encourage discussion of failures tend to lead more innovative teams.
Structured approach to learning from failure:
Edmondson advocates for a systematic approach to analyzing failures, including:
Detecting failures early,
Analyzing them thorouhly,
Discussing them openly,
Reflecting on lessons learned, and
Implementing changes based on those lessons.
Innovation and Experimentation:
Teams that are open about failures are more likely to engage in experimentation and risk-taking, which are crucial for innovation.
Edmondson's work suggests that a culture that embraces failure as part of the learning process is more likely to produce breakthrough innovations.
Organizational Learning:
Open discussions about failure contribute to organizational learning by:
Preventing repeated mistakes
Identifying systemic issues
Sharing knowledge across the organization
Fostering a culture of continuous improvement
Barriers to Learning from Failure:
Edmondson identified several barriers, including:
Fear of negative consequences
Cognitive biases that prevent accurate analysis of failures
Organizational cultures that prioritize success over learning
Edmondson's research highlights that open feedback discussions about failures are not just beneficial, but essential for team learning and innovation. By creating an environment where failures can be discussed openly and constructively, organizations can accelerate their learning processes and foster a culture of innovation. Edmondson's research has led many organizations to implement practices such as: (a) "Failure parties" to celebrate and learn from unsuccessful projects, (b) After-action reviews that focus on learning rather than blame, and (c) Training programs that teach employees how to have productive discussions about failures and continuous emppowering feedback dialog.
Teaming across boundaries:
How feedback mechanisms can help teams work effectively across organizational and cultural boundaries.
Importance of Cross-Boundary Teaming:
Edmondson recognized that in today's globalized world, teams often need to work across various boundaries (organizational, cultural, geographical).
She found that these cross-boundary teams face unique challenges in communication and collaboration.
Role of Feedback in Cross-Boundary Collaboration:
Edmondson's research showed that effective feedback mechanisms are crucial for overcoming the challenges of cross-boundary teaming.
She concluded that feedback helps in aligning expectations, clarifying misunderstandings, and bridging cultural gaps.
Cultural Intelligence and Feedback:
Edmondson emphasized the importance of cultural intelligence in giving and receiving feedback across cultural boundaries.
She found that teams with higher cultural intelligence were better at adapting their feedback styles to different cultural contexts.
Structured Feedback Processes:
Her research suggested that implementing structured feedback processes can help overcome communication barriers in cross-boundary teams.
These processes might include regular check-ins, standardized feedback forms, or facilitated feedback sessions.
Technology-Mediated Feedback:
For geographically dispersed teams, Edmondson's work highlighted the role of technology in facilitating feedback.
She found that tools like video conferencing and collaborative platforms can enhance the richness of feedback in virtual teams.
Leadership's Role in Cross-Boundary Feedback:
Edmondson's research underscored the critical role of leaders in fostering a culture of open feedback across boundaries.
She concluded that leaders who model effective cross-cultural feedback behaviors significantly improve team performance.
Psychological Safety in Diverse Teams:
Building on her work on psychological safety, Edmondson found that creating a psychologically safe environment is even more crucial in cross-boundary teams.
She concluded that psychological safety helps team members overcome the fear of becoming socially awkward or acting improperly when giving feedback.
Feedback as a Learning Tool:
Edmondson's research showed that in cross-boundary contexts, feedback serves not just as a performance tool but as a crucial learning mechanism.
Teams that effectively use feedback tend to learn faster about each other's working styles and cultural norms.
Adapting Feedback Styles:
Her work suggested that successful cross-boundary teams adapt their feedback styles based on the cultural and organizational context.
This might involve adjusting the directness of feedback or the balance between positive and constructive feedback.
Challenges and Pitfalls:
Edmondson identified several challenges in cross-boundary feedback, including:
Misinterpretation of feedback due to cultural differences
Power dynamics affecting the openness of feedback
Language barriers impacting the nuance of feedback
Feedback for Building Trust:
A key conclusion was that regular, constructive feedback helps build trust in cross-boundary teams.
Trust, in turn, facilitates more open and honest communication across boundaries.
Continuous Improvement:
Edmondson's research emphasized that feedback mechanisms in cross-boundary teams should be subject to continuous improvement.
She advocated for regular meta-feedback about the feedback processes themselves.
Edmondson's research demonstrates that thoughtfully designed and implemented feedback mechanisms are crucial for helping teams work effectively across organizational and cultural boundaries. These mechanisms need to be culturally sensitive, structured yet flexible, and supported by leadership to truly enhance cross-boundary collaboration and team performance.
Leadership's role:
The impact of leadership behaviors on fostering a culture of open feedback within teams.
Leader as Role Model:
Edmondson found that leaders who actively model open feedback behaviors have a profound impact on team culture.
When leaders demonstrate vulnerability and openness to feedback, team members are more likely to adopt similar behaviors.
Her research consistently showed that leaders play a crucial role in creating psychological safety within teams.
Leaders who foster psychological safety make it easier for team members to give and receive honest feedback without fear of negative consequences.
Framing Feedback as Learning:
Edmondson concluded that effective leaders frame feedback as a tool for learning and improvement rather than criticism.
This framing helps shift the team's perspective on feedback from threatening to constructive.
Encouraging Upward Feedback:
Her studies revealed that leaders who actively seek and positively respond to feedback from subordinates significantly enhance the overall feedback culture.
This behavior breaks down hierarchical barriers to open communication.
Structured Feedback Processes:
Edmondson found that leaders who implement and consistently use structured feedback processes (e.g., regular check-ins, 360-degree reviews) help normalize feedback within the team.
Addressing Power Dynamics:
Her research highlighted the importance of leaders being aware of and actively mitigating power dynamics that can hinder open feedback.
Leaders who create opportunities for anonymous or facilitated feedback can help overcome these barriers.
Cultural Sensitivity:
In diverse or cross-cultural teams, Edmondson's work showed that leaders need to be culturally intelligent in their approach to feedback.
Adapting feedback styles to suit different cultural norms was found to be crucial for fostering openness.
Focus on Continuous Improvement:
Leaders who emphasize continuous improvement and link it to feedback practices were found to be more successful in creating a feedback-rich environment.
Emotional Intelligence:
Edmondson's research underscored the importance of emotional intelligence in leaders for effectively giving and receiving feedback.
Leaders with high EQ were better able to navigate the emotional aspects of feedback conversations.
Reward and Recognition:
Her studies indicated that leaders who recognize and reward open feedback behaviors help reinforce the desired culture.
This includes acknowledging both the giving and receiving of constructive feedback.
Handling Mistakes and Failures:
Edmondson found that how leaders respond to mistakes and failures significantly impacts the feedback culture.
Leaders who treat errors as learning opportunities encourage more open discussion and feedback.
Time and Resource Allocation:
Her research showed that leaders who allocate specific time and resources for feedback activities signal its importance to the team.
This includes providing training on effective feedback techniques.
Alignment with Organizational Goals:
Edmondson concluded that leaders who effectively link feedback practices to broader organizational goals create a more sustainable feedback culture.
Adaptability in Leadership Style:
Her work suggested that effective leaders adapt their approach to fostering feedback based on the team's current level of psychological safety and openness.
Long-term Commitment:
Edmondson emphasized that creating a culture of open feedback requires consistent, long-term commitment from leaders.
Short-term initiatives were found to be less effective in creating lasting change.
These conclusions highlight the critical role that leadership behaviors play in fostering a culture of open feedback within teams. Edmondson's research demonstrates that leaders have a significant influence on team dynamics and can actively shape the feedback environment through their actions, attitudes, and the systems they implement.
Edmondson's findings on how feedback can build trust in cross-boundary teams were significant.
Trust as a Fundamental Challenge:
Edmondson found that building trust is one of the most significant challenges in cross-boundary teams.
Trust is particularly crucial yet difficult to establish when team members come from different organizational or cultural backgrounds.
Feedback as a Trust-Building Mechanism:
Her research revealed that regular, constructive feedback serves as a powerful tool for building trust across boundaries.
This finding was significant because it provided a concrete, actionable approach to addressing the abstract concept of trust.
Transparency and Predictability:
Edmondson's work showed that consistent feedback creates transparency in team interactions.
This transparency leads to increased predictability, which is a key component of trust in professional relationships.
Cultural Bridging:
A significant finding was that feedback, when done sensitively, can act as a cultural bridge.
By openly discussing expectations and performance, team members gain insights into each other's cultural norms and values.
Psychological Safety and Trust:
Edmondson found a strong correlation between psychological safety, effective feedback, and trust.
Teams that felt safe giving and receiving feedback were more likely to develop high levels of trust.
Reciprocity in Trust-Building:
Her research highlighted that the act of giving feedback, especially positive feedback, often led to reciprocal trust-building behaviors.
This finding was significant as it demonstrated a practical way to initiate trust in new or challenging team dynamics.
Conflict Resolution:
Edmondson's work showed that teams with established feedback mechanisms were better equipped to handle conflicts.
This ability to navigate disagreements constructively further reinforced trust within the team.
Long-term Impact:
A key finding was that teams that consistently used feedback to build trust showed improved performance and satisfaction over time.
This long-term positive impact underscored the significance of feedback as a trust-building tool.
Leadership Influence:
Edmondson found that leaders who modeled open feedback behaviors significantly accelerated trust-building in their teams.
This finding was important as it highlighted the role of leadership in establishing trust through feedback.
Overcoming Initial Barriers:
Her research indicated that while initial feedback exchanges might be uncomfortable, particularly across cultural boundaries, they were crucial in breaking down barriers to trust.
This finding was significant as it encouraged persistence in feedback practices, even when challenging.
Trust as a Catalyst for Innovation:
Edmondson's work revealed that as trust built through feedback increased, teams became more willing to take risks and share innovative ideas.
This connection between trust, feedback, and innovation was a particularly significant finding for organizations seeking to foster creativity in diverse teams.
Measurable Impact:
Importantly, Edmondson developed methods to measure the impact of feedback on trust levels in teams.
This ability to quantify the relationship between feedback and trust added considerable weight to her findings.
The significance of these findings lies in their practical applicability and their potential to transform cross-boundary team dynamics. By establishing a clear link between feedback practices and trust-building, Edmondson provided organizations with a tangible strategy for improving collaboration in diverse and complex team environments.