

What gives a team the 'collective edge'?
61 snips Sep 21, 2025
Colin Fisher, a Professor of Organizations and Innovation at UCL, guides us through the dynamics of effective teamwork. He emphasizes the transformative power of small, interdependent teams and demonstrates how oversized groups can hinder performance. Discover practical strategies to revitalize teams through better structures and shared leadership. Colin advocates for the importance of collective goals and routine reviews, urging managers to focus on the group's synergy instead of individual contributions for enhanced workplace success.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Definition Of A Real Team
- A real team is a small, interdependent group working toward a collective purpose.
- Optimal size is roughly three to seven people to enable true interdependence and shared purpose.
Limit Meetings To Small Core Groups
- Avoid defaulting to meetings with everyone; chunk work into small teams of three to seven.
- Rotate membership and delegate meaningful subteams so decisions and consensus are achievable.
Team Growth Without Pruning Harms Effectiveness
- Teams tend to grow and rarely shrink because managers avoid exclusion decisions.
- Many top teams aren't effective because members disagree even on who belongs in the team.