From The Green Notebook Turning Groups into Teams: Lessons for Leaders with Dr. Colin Fisher
Author and researcher Dr. Colin Fisher joins Joe to unpack the invisible forces that shape teams—and why leaders ignore them at their own risk.
From his book The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups Dr. Fisher shows how group dynamics are always at play, whether in a locker room, a boardroom, or on the battlefield. Together, he and Joe explore why the myth of the lone genius persists, why synergy is real but rare, and how leaders can deliberately build trust, structure, and norms that drive high-performing teams.
In this episode, Joe and Colin explore:
- Why the Sorting Hat—not Voldemort—might be the real villain of Harry Potter
- How the “lone genius” narrative hides the reality of collaboration behind breakthroughs
- What synergy really means and why structure—not speeches—is the leader’s most powerful tool
- The difference between relational trust and task-based trust, and why the latter makes teams excel
- How group norms emerge, and why they can drive both excellence and dysfunction
- Why psychological safety is about the freedom to disagree, not surface-level harmony
- How power changes leaders’ relationships with others—and why who you surround yourself with matters
Whether you’re leading a squad, running a company, or just trying to understand the groups you’re part of, this episode will change how you see teamwork—and give you tools to lead with intention.
Since his days as a professional jazz trumpet player, Dr. Colin M. Fisher has been fascinated by group dynamics. As Associate Professor of Organizations and Innovation at University College London’s School of Management, Colin’s research has uncovered the hidden processes of helping groups and teams in situations requiring creativity, improvisation, and complex decision-making. He has written about group dynamics for both popular science and management audiences, and his work has been profiled in prominent media outlets such as BBC, Forbes, NPR, and The Times. Originally from Redmond, Washington, he now lives in North London with his wife and two children.
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