This is a concept that is definitely gathering momentum within the leadership development community. We have long been used to hierarchical, top down management with the buck very firmly stopping at the door of the corner office suite. As the entry of new generations enter the work force with different aspirations and values, we are seeing a shift in what will work in the future and management through collective intelligence certainly seems to be finding traction.
Research from Woolley et al has shown that Collective Intelligence is a stronger predictor of a team’s performance than it’s individual people’s abilities and yet so many Boards and senior teams are still very much a group of individuals rather than a collective who dedicate time and energy to identifying each other’s strengths, knowledge levels and expertise and be willing to offer and receive assistance to work towards the advancement of the whole rather than the individual or their silo. There is no criticism in this – it has been an effective way of working for decades but the world of work is changing so perhaps the time has come to look at how we can change with it.
If you are part of or lead a team, do you feel like a cohesive whole? Are you all moving in the same direction even when you are not together? Is there any chance that those who work for your team members get mixed messages from different members of the team that add to confusion?
If so, perhaps it’s time to start looking at how you can create a “champion team” rather than a team of champions.