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Small Group Research
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Bringing in the Experts

How Team Composition and Collaborative Planning Jointly Shape Analytic Effectiveness

Anita Williams Woolley

Harvard University, anita{at}post.harvard.edu

Margaret E. Gerbasi

Princeton University

Christopher F. Chabris

Union College

Stephen M. Kosslyn

Harvard University

J. Richard Hackman

Harvard University

This study investigates the separate and joint effects of the inclusion of experts and collaborative planning on the performance of analytic teams. Teams either did or did not include members with expert-level task-relevant cognitive abilities, and either did or did not receive an intervention that fostered collaborative planning. Results support the authors' hypothesis that analytic performance requires both task-appropriate expertise and collaborative planning to identify strategies for optimally using that expertise. Indeed, high expertise in the absence of collaborative planning actually decreased team performance. Teams engaging in collaborative planning were more likely to effectively integrate their information on key aspects of the analytic problem, which significantly enhanced their analytic performance. Furthermore, information integration mediated the effects of the interaction of expertise and collaboration on performance. The implications of the findings for the optimal use of team member skills and the development of team performance strategies are discussed.

Key Words: team performance • experts • collaboration • information integration

Small Group Research, Vol. 39, No. 3, 352-371 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1046496408317792
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