Abstract

Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT’s) have become an important requirement of high-performance sport. Practitioners from diverse professional backgrounds work in silo and
concert to deliver performance support services in the pursuit of enhanced individual athlete health, well-being and optimised performance outcomes. Whilst the MDT approach and performance support is well established there is a relatively limited body of research advocating for how these teams operate in practice and what they attend to. Anecdotally, practitioners and MDTs are expected to collaboratively solve performance problems and yet, to date, despite the terms common use and widespread reference across the literature, what this looks like in practice, why (and if) it is required and how teams go about this, is underdeveloped from a research perspective.

This thesis sets out to critically examine and better articulate the role of MDTs in high-performance sport focusing on their problem-solving and decision-making processes. The
research aim is to explore how individual practitioners, MDTs, and high-performance leaders conceptualise and execute problem-solving within high-performance environments. The output of this thesis is a contemporary problem-solving framework that can be adopted or deployed by practitioners, teams, leaders and organisations to rationalise approaches to problem-solving, creating conditions to better access and leverage the expertise of the MDT and direct it appropriately to the requirements within the context. This consequently answers how high-performance MDT’s solve problems in high-performance sport.

A pragmatic research design (Giacobbi et al., 2005) including both Likert scale surveys visualised through dual axis heat maps and a constructivist, qualitative methodology was
employed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019). The research adopted an inductive, data-driven approach, emphasising the active role of the researcher in knowledge production. Data were collected through surveys, focus groups and semi-structured interviews with high-performance sport practitioners and leaders. Heat maps were created to show patterns in practitioner responses whilst thematic analysis was used to identify patterns and emergent themes related to MDT collaboration and problem-solving.

Findings suggest that a continuum of problem-solving approaches was identified, ranging from routine, intuitive decision-making to deliberate, innovative problem-solving. Despite the increasing emphasis on cognitive flexibility, many practitioners default to discipline-specific, pre-established solutions rather than interdisciplinary collaboration and novel problem-solving.

While MDTs are expected to collaborate, they often function as loosely connected groups of specialists. Key barriers that were identified to collaboration included ambiguity in roles and expertise, professional territoriality, and the absence of structured approaches to problem-solving and decision-making. Leaders in high-performance sport face systemic, structural, and interpersonal complexities that create ‘wicked problems.’ While cognitive diversity is crucial for effective problem-solving, leaders lack clear frameworks to harness this diversity. The research highlights the necessity for structured problem-solving methodologies, such as design thinking, to enhance MDT effectiveness and proposes a problem-solving framework for individuals, teams and leaders.

The body of work advances theoretical understanding by contributing to the literature on multi and interdisciplinary team dynamics, problem-solving frameworks, and applied cognition in high-performance sport. From an applied perspective, it highlights the importance of ‘T-Skills’ (meta-cognitive, interpersonal, and critical thinking skills) in MDT training and professional development. The findings suggest reframing MDTs as active problem-solving entities rather than passive collections of expertise, emphasising structured collaboration, leadership clarity, and integrated decision-making or problem-solving frameworks. The research underscores the need for high-performance sport organisations to implement structured problem-solving methodologies to maximise MDT effectiveness.

Implications for Practice:
1. Developing structured collaboration frameworks to optimise MDT integration.
2. Enhancing cognitive flexibility training for practitioners to bridge the gap between formal education and applied problem-solving.
3. Implementing leadership strategies that emphasise cognitive diversity and structured problem-solving.

This thesis provides a foundation for future research on the operationalisation of problem-solving within MDTs in high-performance sport, with implications for training, leadership, and organisational effectiveness.