With playoff games ending and the Superbowl hype beginning, football is on the minds of many. While these games are entertainment to us, it’s all business for the players and coaches. Being successful as a football team requires excellence at teamwork and communication. The huddle is a technique football teams use frequently and one TeamSTEPPS® encourages too. Football teams use huddles for motivation and to create and change strategy. Huddles can be powerful communication tools when used in your organization too.
The TeamSTEPPS® huddle is communication tool to help teams adjust plans already in place. When plans need to change, a huddle helps the team modify, clarify or create a new plan. Huddles provide the opportunity for team members to share vital information. To be effective huddles must be brief and focused. Huddles are often facilitated by leaders like the charge nurses or a team leader but can led any member of the team.
Huddles are an easy to tool to get started as they can happen anytime and require little to no preparation. To get started with huddles, encourage the team leaders to hold mid-shift huddle. The mid-shift huddle will get the team comfortable with the tool. It will also be useful in checking progress toward the shift goals. After the team gets used to the idea, encourage them to use huddles as needed throughout the day. Huddles are a great strategy to incorporate when the team is short-staffed, resident care needs are changing, something emergent happens or when the plan isn’t working as expected.
As you watch the Superbowl in a few weeks, watch the plays (or the commercials) and the communication strategies behind the action. You will see a lot of huddles! Huddles drive the action during games and can drive care, promote team work and improve communication when used by care teams.
