CQIA Team Dynamics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is a characteristic of a high-performing quality improvement team?
- Members always agree to avoid conflict
- Team decisions are made solely by the leader
- Members hold each other accountable for results (Correct answer)
- Roles and responsibilities shift daily without documentation
Correct answer: Members hold each other accountable for results
High-performing teams develop peer accountability, where members take responsibility for their commitments and hold others to theirs.
Question 2: The 'norming' phase of Tuckman's model is BEST characterized by:
- High conflict and power struggles among members
- Team members establishing cohesion and agreed-upon norms (Correct answer)
- The team disbanding after project completion
- Initial enthusiasm and polite interactions
Correct answer: Team members establishing cohesion and agreed-upon norms
In the norming stage, teams resolve earlier conflicts and develop shared norms, roles, and cooperative working relationships.
Question 3: When a quality team uses an affinity diagram, what is the PRIMARY goal?
- To assign numerical priority scores to problems
- To organize large amounts of qualitative data into natural groupings (Correct answer)
- To sequence tasks in a project timeline
- To identify root causes using a fishbone structure
Correct answer: To organize large amounts of qualitative data into natural groupings
An affinity diagram groups related ideas or data into clusters to reveal patterns and themes from large volumes of information.
Question 4: A team facilitator notices that one member dominates every discussion. The BEST intervention is to:
- Remove the dominant member from the team
- Use structured techniques like round-robin to ensure equal participation (Correct answer)
- Allow it, since dominant members usually have the best ideas
- Have the team leader speak more to balance the dynamic
Correct answer: Use structured techniques like round-robin to ensure equal participation
Round-robin and similar structured participation techniques ensure all voices are heard without singling out any one member.
Question 5: What does the term 'psychological safety' mean in the context of a quality improvement team?
- Physical safety protocols for team members in the workplace
- A work environment where members feel safe to speak up without fear of ridicule (Correct answer)
- Insurance coverage for team-related accidents
- A policy requiring anonymous feedback only
Correct answer: A work environment where members feel safe to speak up without fear of ridicule
Psychological safety, as described by Amy Edmondson, means team members feel safe to take interpersonal risks like sharing ideas, questions, or concerns.
Question 6: Which of the following signals that a quality improvement team has reached the 'performing' stage?
- Members frequently argue about roles and responsibilities
- The team works interdependently with minimal need for leader direction (Correct answer)
- New members are just getting oriented to the team goals
- The team relies on external facilitators for all decisions
Correct answer: The team works interdependently with minimal need for leader direction
In the performing stage, teams are highly functional, self-directed, and focused on achieving goals with minimal supervision.
Question 7: A quality team is selecting between five improvement options. They assign weighted criteria and score each option. This technique is called a:
- Cause-and-effect diagram
- Decision matrix (criteria matrix) (Correct answer)
- Pareto chart
- Control chart
Correct answer: Decision matrix (criteria matrix)
A decision matrix evaluates and prioritizes options by scoring them against weighted criteria to support objective team decisions.
CQIA Team Dynamics 3
Which of the following is a characteristic of a high-performing quality improvement team?