From Orientation to Behavior: The Interplay Between Learning Orientation, Open-mindedness, and Psychological Safety in Team Learning

Do teams with motivation to learn actually engage in the behaviors that produce learning? Though team learning orientation has been found to be positively related to team learning, we know little about how and when it actually fosters team learning. It is obviously not the only factor that may impact learning in teams. Team psychological safety, or the way team members feel about taking interpersonal risks, is another important factor associated with team learning. Team open-mindedness, or the degree of curiosity that teams have for new ideas, is also likely to impact team learning. So far, these factors have been investigated independently of each other. In this article, we draw from theory on team development and goal achievement to develop a model of team learning that includes them. We report the results from a time-lagged, survey-based study designed to test our model. We found that the relationship between team learning orientation and team learning is mediated by team psychological safety. Yet, this is only true when team open-mindedness is low, not when it is high. We thus reveal initial patterns of interaction and discrimination among key factors that are related to team learning in ways that contribute to both theory and practice.