From my experience, I would say that almost every organization could benefit from building strong teams, and also that almost every organization is not, in all key respects, ready to do this. So the consultants' job is, in part, to help them work on the readiness issues before jumping in too far too fast. In other words, is is usual to find high need, high potential, and low readiness for teams. Now, the really provacative part. For those on this listserve who think that some of us are over-prescribing teams and believe that teams are only appropriate in some locations and functions, here is some fuel.
Patient records being misfiled or temorarily lost cause critical errors.
Lack of coordination between doctors, and between doctors and nurses, and between doctors and pharmacists can cost critical time in patient care and healing, and even worse can and does cost lives. Teams and teamwork are essential in healthcare. And hundreds of hospitals and medical centers have implemented teams and teamwork. However, they run into some particular difficulties, especially related to the medical hierarchy and the reluctance of doctors to share their power and prestige. Hard and slow and thoughtful work is required to implement teams and teamwork within the medical culture.