Second City Works presents "Getting to Yes, And" Getting to Yes, And… | Colin Fisher – ‘The Secret Power of Groups’
Sep 30, 2025
Colin Fisher, an Associate Professor at University College London, shares insights from his book, *The Collective Edge*. He discusses how categorizing people limits relationships and collaboration, echoing themes from the Harry Potter sorting hat. Fisher emphasizes the importance of building trust through task-focused collaboration rather than mere exercises. He critiques both traditional leadership structures and individualism, advocating for shared leadership and open communication to enhance group effectiveness. His research underscores how social sensitivity plays a crucial role in team success.
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Danger Of Fixed Group Labels
- The habit of sorting people into fixed categories causes long-term conflict and poor group understanding.
- Early labeling makes us treat category membership as the whole of a person and fuels intergroup wars.
Tribal Instincts Vs Modern Complexity
- Humans evolved to prioritize staying in the tribe, which fosters conformity and inhibits tackling complex modern problems.
- Tribal instincts help survival but undermine tasks requiring diverse expertise and future-oriented thinking.
Individualism Masks Group Dependence
- Contemporary culture's obsession with individualism hides how interdependent our success is within groups.
- Over-focusing on heroic individuals blinds organizations to structural group dynamics that determine outcomes.
