TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose We examine how interpersonal behavior and social interaction influence team sensemaking and subsequent team actions during a hospital-based health information technology (HIT) implementation project.Design/methodology/approach Over the course of 18 months, we directly observed the interpersonal interactions of HIT implementation teams using a sensemaking lens.Findings We identified three voice-promoting strategies enacted by team leaders that fostered team member voice and sensemaking; communicating a vision; connecting goals to team member values; and seeking team member input. However, infrequent leader expressions of anger quickly undermined team sensemaking, halting dialog essential to problem solving. By seeking team member opinions, team leaders overcame the negative effects of anger.Practical implications Leaders must enact voice-promoting behaviors and use them throughout a team’s engagement. Further, training teams in how to use conflict to achieve greater innovation may improve sensemaking essential to project risk mitigation.Social implications Health care work processes are complex; teams involved in implementing improvements must be prepared to deal with conflicting, contentious issues, which will arise during change. Therefore, team conflict training may be essential to sustaining sensemaking.Research implications Future research should seek to identify team interactions that foster sensemaking, especially when topics are difficult or unwelcome, then determine the association between staff sensemaking and the impact on HIT implementation outcomes.Value/originality We are among the first to focus on project teams tasked with HIT implementation. This research extends our understanding of how leaders’ behaviors might facilitate or impeded speaking up among project teams in health care settings.
VL  - 14
SN  - 978-1-78190-633-0/1474-8231
DO  - 10.1108/S1474-8231(2013)00000140010
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S1474-8231(2013)00000140010
AU  - Kitzmiller Rebecca R.
AU  - McDaniel Reuben R.
AU  - Johnson Constance M.
AU  - Lind E. Allan
AU  - Anderson Ruth A.
PY  - 2013
Y1  - 2013/01/01
TI  - Exploring interpersonal behavior and team sensemaking during health information technology implementation
T2  - Leading in Health Care Organizations: Improving Safety, Satisfaction and Financial Performance
T3  - Advances in Health Care Management
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 119
EP  - 144
Y2  - 2024/04/27
ER  -