Encouraging Collective Intelligence

As the Head of People, Culture & Change, I often found myself asking one question: What makes a great leader? In the early days of my career, I thought the answer was a combination of IQ or EQ. But after years of rolling up my sleeves and working alongside leaders, I realized a missing component — Group Intelligence or a leader’s ability to navigate in complex ecosystems. Much like a beehive, groups are ecosystems where every part is interconnected. When leaders possess Group Intelligence, they understand and can intervene successfully in groups. The hallmarks of people with Group Intelligence are the ability to: 1. Detect Noise: Tune into the background “noise," identifying friction points and subtle signals of dysfunction. 2. Diagnose Dysfunctional Patterns: Pinpoint hidden agreements that are holding the group back. 3. See Roles and Relatedness Between Parts: Focus on the relatedness between the parts - not just on interpersonal relationships - to understand how each role fits into the bigger picture. 4. Design Successful Interventions: Craft targeted actions that address underlying causes, not just symptoms. 5. Optimise Group Functioning: Create conditions where different parts can work together effectively. 6. Enable Each Part of the System to Express Its Voice: Ensure everyone feels heard and valued. 7. Help Collective Decision-Making: Guide the group toward alignment, harnessing diverse perspectives. 8. Overcome Resistance: Examine what’s going on in the system and transform pushback into forward momentum. 9. Nudge Groups in the Right Direction: Design small, intentional interventions to guide the group toward its goals. 10. Reframe Roles: Redefine mental maps (individual and collective). 11. Rewire Dysfunctional Patterns: Replace old ways with more functional and effective ones. 12. Redesign How Groups Function: Rethink operating models to support lasting change. 13. Strengthen the Group: Build resilience, ensuring the team is ready for future challenges. The Lesson from Bees
Watching a hive in action reminds us that complexity doesn’t have to be chaotic. Bees don’t need rigid control; they thrive on connection, clarity, and adaptability. The same is true for human ecosystems. When leaders embrace Group Intelligence, their teams become more agile, productive, and prepared to thrive in the face of complexity. 
Leaders with Group Intelligence release the need to “control” the “chaos”—and focus instead on unlocking the collective power of the group. ❓How are you building Group Intelligence within your team? Share your thoughts below 👇 
If you want to dive deeper into how to develop Group Intelligence, check out my latest book The Hive Mind at Work, available on Amazon. 📖

Diverse teams are powerful, but only if they’re designed to be. Just putting different people together isn’t enough. What I’ve learned over 11+ years is that true  🧠 Collective Intelligence only emerges when diversity is intentionally activated. 🖌 My Blueprint to unlock it: 🔹 Cognitive diversity It’s about bringing different thinking styles. Teams that embrace divergent ways of solving problems uncover creative solutions that others miss. 🔹 Demographic Diversity The presence of different intersectional identities and lived experiences creates a richer understanding of potential blind spots and unmet needs. 🔹 Experiential Diversity Diverse career paths and life stories equip teams with practical insights that can cut through “tried-and-true” methods that often fail in complex, changing environments. 🔹 Psychological Safety This is the game-changer. Without it, diversity backfires. High-performing teams create a “safe container” where everyone—from the quiet thinkers to the bold disruptors—can voice their ideas without fear. 🔹 Inclusive Decision-Making Diversity is wasted if decisions are still made by the loudest voice in the room. Structured inclusion ensures that varied perspectives aren’t just heard but drive the direction forward. The result? 1️⃣ Faster, smarter decisions: diverse insights reduce blind spots and increase confidence in strategic choices, helping leaders respond swiftly to market changes. 2️⃣ Increased innovation and agility: aligned teams leverage diverse perspectives to solve complex problems creatively and adapt to new challenges with resilience. 3️⃣ Stronger engagement and retention: when teams feel psychologically safe and included, they’re more committed and motivated. This translates to lower turnover and higher morale. The path to unlocking your team’s full potential starts with aligning on the right elements—diversity, psychological safety, and inclusion in decisions. 🤔 P.S. Where is your team on the path to collective intelligence—and what’s your next step?

Your expertise might be dimming your best thinkers. Here's how to spark their brilliance instead: As leaders, we often face a choice: Do we fortify the walls of our expertise, or do we build bridges to new possibilities? As an executive coach, I've witnessed this countless times: The moment a leader shifts from "I know the answer" to "What might we discover together?" the entire team dynamic transforms. People who rarely spoke up begin sharing innovative solutions. Long-standing problems suddenly have fresh angles. This simple change in approach activates the collective intelligence and experience of the whole team. While your expertise got you here, staying curious will take you further. Every time you think you have the answer, pause. Your team has insights you haven't considered and solutions you can't see alone. Here are 3 practical ways to make this shift: 1. Replace your solution statements with genuine questions in your next team meeting. Instead of "Here's what we should do," try "What approaches haven't we considered yet?" 2. When a challenge arises, pause before sharing your expertise. Instead of "In my previous role, I solved this by..." ask: "What perspectives am I missing? What would someone with fresh eyes see here?" 3. Create space for contagious curiosity. When team members bring ideas, respond with genuine interest rather than immediate guidance. "Tell me more about how you came to that insight" sparks deeper exploration than "Here's what I'd suggest instead." Watch how these simple shifts ignite fresh thinking and bring in the quieter voices. 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: Your expertise isn't a destination – it's a launch pad for collective discovery. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: How might you use your knowledge not to shine, but to spark brilliance in others today? ♻️Repost if you believe your expertise should spark curiosity, not silence it. ➕Follow Michelle Awuku-Tatum for more insights on leadership and team dynamics.

🤔Weekend Reading 👉 A few years ago, I began exploring how AI and collective intelligence could converge to address complex challenges—from public health to democratic innovation. One suggestion of my paper at the time included augmented collective intelligence: the idea that technology could help groups think better together, not just individuals work faster alone. (see: https://lnkd.in/ezMRya9) 📢 A new paper by Thomas Kehler, Scott Page, Alex 'Sandy' Pentland, Martin Reeves, and John Seely Brown brings this vision into the generative AI era—introducing the concept of Generative Collective Intelligence (GCI). 👉 Instead of framing AI as a substitute for human cognition, GCI treats AI as a "cultural and social technology that allows humans to take advantage of the information other humans have accumulated." This represents a shift from personal productivity tools to collective reasoning infrastructures—where humans and AI collaborate to align on goals, explore alternative solutions, and overcome communication barriers. 🧭 As the authors put it: “The greatest potential of AI lies not in its capacity to act alone but in collaborations that combine human creativity and wisdom with AI's computational and organizational capabilities.” 👉 The paper offers mathematical foundations (comparative judgment, minimum regret), rich use cases (climate adaptation, healthcare, civic participation), and a vision where AI becomes a partner in structured deliberation, not just a source of generative outputs. (which Claudia Chwalisz is also examining). 🤔 Of particular interest to me involved their focus on “Amplifying Serendipitous Discovery” - which reminded me of my recent conversations with the great Dirk Helbing who is also looking into how to enable serendipitous encounters to solve societal problems. 🧭 Quote:  “Generative collective intelligence can amplify serendipitous discovery—unexpected connections and insights that emerge when diverse perspectives interact in structured ways...Traditional group decision-making often falls victim to communication complexity, as the increased number of participants creates exponentially more communication channels. Humans lack the capacity to determine which of the thousand plus combinations of three people that could be chosen to form a group of twenty offer the most promise for a breakthrough.” 🤔 Another area of interest explored in the paper involves “The Architecture of Epiphany” - which relates much with what we are working on re: the structuring the quest of questions or architecture of Inquiry (see: https://lnkd.in/etDgZSyN)  🧭 Quote: "What distinguishes GCI's approach to breakthrough thinking is its structured facilitation of what cognitive scientists call "conceptual blending"—the process of integrating elements from different mental spaces to create new conceptual structures." 📄 Full paper: https://lnkd.in/e_gMtpST

The Power of Diverse Teams: Unleashing Collective Intelligence In my work with clients, I've witnessed the transformative power of diverse teams. When individuals with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences come together, something extraordinary happens. It's not just about combining skills—it's about creating an environment where innovation can truly take root. A key element in fostering innovation is embracing conflict of opinion. Healthy conflict isn't just beneficial; it's essential. Leaders should actively seek out individuals who think differently, challenge the status quo, and bring fresh perspectives to the table. This cognitive diversity is the foundation of collective intelligence, where teams can achieve far more together than alone. While demographic diversity is crucial, cognitive diversity is equally important. Differences in how people think, process information, and approach problems drive innovation and high performance. It fuels creativity, sparks richer discussions, leads to innovative solutions, and enhances decision-making. One of the most impactful actions a leader can take is not just to encourage cognitive diversity but to establish it as a core expectation. Recently, I had the privilege of working with an exceptional leader who embodied this approach. In a workshop I facilitated, this leader set a clear standard: “real talk” wasn’t just encouraged; it was essential. The expectation was that every team member would bring their unique perspective to the table, even if it meant challenging the status quo. This commitment to open, honest dialogue unlocked incredible cognitive diversity, fostering deeper engagement, richer conversations, and a high-performing team capable of tackling challenges with unmatched creativity and insight. #Leadership #CognitiveDiversity #Innovation #TeamBuilding #CollectiveIntelligence #DiversityAndInclusion #HighPerformanceTeams

Two years ago, I worked with a senior executive who had all the hallmarks of success - sharp intellect, a stellar track record, and a commanding presence. But something was missing. 🤔 Her team was disengaged. Collaboration was surface-level. Innovation had stalled. She came to me not for answers, but for transformation. Through our work, she began to shift - from being the smartest person in the room to the one who made everyone else smarter. She learned to listen deeply, to surface hidden tensions, to create psychological safety, and to draw out the quiet brilliance in others. She became a super facilitator. Harvard Business Review’s latest piece nails it: the most effective leaders today aren’t just visionaries or strategists - they’re facilitators of collective intelligence. They know how to: 🔸 Integrate diverse perspectives without diluting clarity 🔸 Create trust that fuels risk-taking and innovation 🔸 Guide conversations that unlock insight and action 🔸 Hold space for discomfort, ambiguity, and emergence Cultivating this most powerful kind of leadership is the work that fuels my soul as a team coach and facilitator. Because unreasonable ambition isn’t achieved through individual genius - it’s powered by the brilliance of the many. It takes all of us. 🔗 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gvTg774S #LeadershipReimagined #SuperFacilitators #CollectiveBrilliance #UnreasonableAmbition #ExecutiveTransformation #OrganisationalPsychology