Colin M. Fisher, associate professor at University College London’s School of Management and author of The Collective Edge, examines how teams actually work and what leaders can do to raise performance without relying on slogans or surface-level coaching.

His research shows that leaders often misdiagnose team challenges as interpersonal when the root causes are structural. As Fisher explains:

“Over 80% of people wanted to change process… only about 4% wanted to change structure. And yet it was structure that was the right answer.”

He argues for clear outcomes paired with autonomy over method:

“People are most motivated when you tell them what the outcome they’re trying to achieve is, but you give them autonomy on how to achieve it.”

• Boundaries are often unclear. In one study of top management teams, “only 7%… agreed on the number of people on the team.” Lack of clarity undermines coordination before meetings even begin.
  
  

• Small teams outperform. Evidence points to an ideal size of 4–5 members: big enough for diverse skills but small enough to minimize coordination costs.
  
  

• Compose for skills, not folklore. Fisher warns against personality typologies:
  “There’s no one recipe for using personality or strengths to compose teams.”
  Instead, focus on needed knowledge, perspectives, and—where possible—social sensitivity, which predicts collective intelligence.
  
  
  

• Design tasks for interdependence and identity. True team tasks require diverse expertise, allow members to see work from start to finish, and give visibility into the impact of their contributions.
  
  

• Set goals that are clear, challenging, and consequential. Fisher advises leaders to reiterate goals in writing at the start of each meeting to sustain alignment.
  
  

• Align teams of teams. Coordination failures often occur between frontline and top leadership. Cross-level, cross-functional teams are essential for consistency.
  
  

• Codify norms early. Groups should explicitly decide communication channels, cadence, and expectations for speaking up.
  “Psychological safety is nonnegotiable for surfacing expertise and learning from error.”
  
  
  

Fisher’s core message is disciplined and testable: structure the team and its work with intent, state the outcome, and then get out of the way. The result is greater ownership, better learning, and fewer misattributions to personalities when the real culprit is design.

📚 Get Colin’s book, The Collective Edge, here: https://shorturl.at/91Khp

Here are some free gifts for you:

Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach

McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf

Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo