Leadership structures in emergency care settings: A study of two trauma centers

► We identify five leadership structures in trauma resuscitation and examine the effects of cross-disciplinary leadership on trauma teamwork. ► Leadership structures include: solo decision-making and intervening models within intra-disciplinary leadership category and intervening, parallel and collaborative models within cross-disciplinary leadership category. ► The weakest leadership was observed in cross-disciplinary parallel model, in which both surgical leaders and ED physicians issued independent task orders to other team members.