When are Groups Ready for Coaching?

Why are groups so hard?

From boring work meetings to dysfunctional families to warring nations, group dynamics shape every aspect of our lives. How can we avoid the common pitfalls of living and working together and get the most from our groups?

The solution isn’t to change individuals—it’s to understand the world from a collective perspective.

The secret to getting the most from your groups is using these factors to work with the invisible forces of group dynamics instead of being mindlessly pushed around by them. In this session, Dr. Colin Fisher distills research-based lessons from his new book The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups, into a framework for understanding when groups are most ready for coaching - and when they aren’t. 

About the Author:

Colin M. Fisher | Author of "The Collective Edge" | Professor, Speaker, Occasional Jazz Trumpeter | PhD Programme Director, UCL School of Management

Colin M. Fisher is an Associate Professor at University College London’s School of Management and the author of The Collective Edge.

Renowned for his research into group dynamics and team effectiveness, he draws on experiences as both a professional jazz musician and an organizational scholar. Colin’s work challenges conventional wisdom on how teams collaborate and innovate, and has been featured in top academic journals as well as in outlets such as the BBC, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review.

About the book:

The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups explores how groups can unlock higher levels of creativity, decision quality, and collective intelligence by engaging more deliberately with each other’s thinking.

Drawing on decades of research, Colin M. Fisher reveals how teams gain an “edge” not through individual brilliance, but through the ways they structure interactions, build psychological safety, and design the conditions that amplify shared insight. The book offers practical strategies for leaders, facilitators, and team coaches who want to help groups collaborate more effectively—highlighting how small shifts in structure, process, and dialogue can lead to significantly better outcomes.