Vuorovaikutusosaamisen yhteisyys työelämän tiimeissä

Abstract

Teams are a very common way to organize work within a variety of fields. The role of competent communication in high-quality and successful teamwork is emphasized in both research and in working life discourse. However, research on communication competence in working life teams is scarce. Extant research lies heavily in the study of communication situations in short-term groups. The reality of working life teams differs from such groups. Teams work on varied, overlapping tasks, often over long periods of time. Moreover, extant research primarily has focused on competence as an individual quality. The objective of this study is to describe and understand the sharedness of communication competence in working life teams. The present study comprises four articles. The first article is a theoretical and conceptual analysis that includes a proposition for the new concept of shared communication competence. The remaining three articles are empirical and grounded within constructivist and constructionist research. The second article is a study on the shared and divergent understandings of communication competence in an autonomous team. The third article examines the content and functions of dramatizations in team decision making. The fourth article is an examination of the changes in understandings of team-leadership communication over time. The results show that the sharedness of communication competence manifests as: (1) a shared understanding of the criteria and dimensions of competent communication; (2) symbolic construction, demonstration, and evaluation of competent communication; (3) controlling and utilizing relational communication; and (4) developing and revising communication competence over time. The results are especially applicable to the development of communication competence within long-term teams. They can be used to assist teams in becoming aware of and developing their shared meanings and practices regarding competent communication. Future research possibilities include further applying systemic and multilevel concepts, as well as incorporating the organizational level research.