DEVELOPING TEAMS IN A LEARNING ORGANIZATION by VALERIE DAVIS, PID A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in LEADERSHIP AND TRAINING We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard Christine Bonney, MA, Project Sponsor Kelley Marko, MBA MA, Faculty Supervisor Linda V. Coupal, PhD, Committee Chair ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY November 2006 © Valerie Davis, 2006i+ Library and Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch 395 Wellinaton Street Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada NOTICE: The author has granted a non- exclusive license allowing Library and Archives Canada to reproduce, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, communicate to the public by telecommunication or on the Internet, loan, distribute and sell theses worldwide, for commercial or non- commercial purposes, in microform, paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright ‘ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Patrimoine de 'édition 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ONS Your fle Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-23647-5 Ourfile Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-23647-5 AVIS: L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public par télécommunication ou par I'internet, préter, distribuer et vendre des théses partout dans le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou autres formats. Lrauteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur et des droits moraux qui protége cette these Nila thése ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci ne doivent étre imprimés ou autrement reproduits sans son autorisation. In compliance with the Canadian Privacy Act some supporting forms may have been removed from this thesis. While these forms may be included in the document page count, their removal does not represent any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Conformément a la loi canadienne sur la protection de la vie privée, quelques formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de cette thése. Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans la pagination il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant.Developing Teams ii ABSTRACT This study explores the benefits that teams have on increasing performance and enhancing learning while contributing to the learning organization. Through action research, the study examines the challenges and barriers that adversely impact the development of effective teams at Interior Health (IH). By using appreciative inquiry as the data collection methodology, the study reveals problems related to workload, employee burnout, and higher turnover. Moreover, the issue of trust and empowerment are exposed as significant barriers to team development. In order to develop the learning organization, IH must foster and model core values based on trust while also ‘empowering its workforce to transform to a team-based culture. The development and utilization of effective teams will enhance employee satisfaction, contribute to continuous improvement, and impact employee retention while also increasing performance in order to meet higher workload demands.