Good clinical skills and dexterity alone do not make a good surgeon. Skills in leadership, decision-making, communication and teamwork, so-called non-technical skills, are also needed. Research on the effect of training non-technical skills is sparse but improvement in communication and teamwork has been achieved due to team training. Implementation of a preoperative briefing also improves communication and reduces the number of postoperative complications. Focus should be directed towards the training of surgeons in non-technical skills in order to improve outcome after surgery.