On-Demand Learning Lab: Virtual Team Building - the "New Normal"-Recorded Learning Lab Virtual Team Building

Video Transcription

Video Summary

NACU hosted a Learning Lab on “Virtual Team Building: The New Normal,” introduced by Elyse Akinrode, Director of Education. She highlighted NACU’s role in defining healthcare quality competencies, its accredited CPHQ certification (held by nearly 13,000 professionals), new digital badges for credential holders, and upcoming programming including NACU Next 2021 (Sept. 13–15) and various online courses and CPHQ prep resources.<br /><br />Moderated by Carol Pulaski with panelists Kelly Morrison and Linda Weirach, the session focused on building and sustaining high-performing quality teams in virtual and hybrid environments. The speakers defined a team as an interdependent group working toward a common goal and reviewed the purpose and responsibilities of quality councils/committees, stressing alignment with organizational strategic plans. They emphasized that teams outperform individuals on complex, cross-functional work and recommended using a team charter to clarify purpose, roles, scope, and outcomes—preventing repetitive, unfocused meetings.<br /><br />The panel reviewed key team roles (sponsor, champion, leader, facilitator, members) and revisited the “forming, storming, norming, performing” model, noting that pandemic-driven remote work often forced teams to revert to earlier stages. Effectiveness can be assessed through productivity, member satisfaction/engagement, and individual growth.<br /><br />Best practices included ensuring diverse skill sets, encouraging contributions from all members, leadership support, reliable attendance, non-hierarchical participation, clear agendas, and explicit ground rules—especially respect and psychological safety. To replace informal hallway collaboration, they recommended leveraging virtual tools (Zoom/WebEx/Teams, chat, shared boards) to share files, brainstorm asynchronously, and maintain accountability, including camera use and active participation rather than passive attendance.

Keywords

Virtual team building

High-performing teams

Healthcare quality competencies

CPHQ certification

Digital badges

Quality councils and committees

Team charter

Forming storming norming performing

Psychological safety

Virtual collaboration tools