Teams perform better when its members possess a shared, accurate, and complimentary understanding about key elements such as the team’s purpose, priorities, roles, and tasks—“shared cognitions.” This chapter describes eight types of shared cognitions, including an understanding of who on the team has specific expertise (sometimes called transactive memory) and if–then contingencies (what to do when certain situations arise). Shared cognitions improve routine coordination and enable faster, smarter adjustments. This chapter also reveals that team member familiarity can help up to a point, but too much familiarity may create a risk of complacency. Research shows that professional familiarity, such as knowing team members’ work-related strengths and weaknesses is more valuable than personal familiarity, such as knowing their hobbies. Methods for building shared cognitions are described related to direction setting (e.g., visioning, chartering), preparing (e.g., role clarification exercises, scenario-based training), updating (e.g., debriefs, huddles), and assimilating (e.g., onboarding).
