Multi-disciplinary Teams in High Performance Sport, The What and The How: A Utopian View or a Darker Reality

Abstract

High performance sport practitioners work as part of a cross-functional team of experts to deliver effective service to coaches and athletes. While practitioners’ technical skills are highly coveted, their ability to work within a team of experts from different disciplines is poorly understood and researched in sporting contexts. Success or failure of practitioners is often the by-product of their ability to integrate into the team and maintain relationships under high pressure and in challenging environments. The objective of this study was to explore how practitioners work as part of multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) in high performance sport. Twenty-eight practitioners from different professional disciplines and sporting organizations attended five separate, virtually hosted focus groups where the researcher and participants shared their views, beliefs, and perspectives about how they approach, and what they think about when working, in MDTs. Responses were analyzed using a qualitative reflexive thematic approach, and a thematic map and four themes were identified to depict what MDTs do and how they operate. The four domain topics (the “what”) were (1) Decision Making & Problem Solving; (2) Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing; (3) Interpersonal Skills & Development and (4), Leadership & Team Dynamics. The four themes for how practitioners operate (the lubricants of successful MDT working) were (1) Cognitive diversity is important but not if it slows us down, (2) Staying in your lane is encouraged however sharing and collaboration is important (3), We need psychological safety, however poor behavior keeps getting in the way, and (4) High confidence in a world of nuance and uncertainty; adaptability and context is key. The thematic map presents an idealized perspective of how practitioners’ function within MDTs in high-performance sport. This utopian view contrasts with the reality that practitioners face. Their frustrations, challenges, and reflections stemming from failures paint a darker picture of their experiences, highlighting the complexities inherent in their work and flagging considerations for both practitioners and leaders.