Ideas worth spreading

How to turn a group of strangers into a team

3,297,549 views |

Amy Edmondson |

TED Salon: Brightline Initiative

• October 2017

Business school professor Amy Edmondson studies "teaming," where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual problems. Recalling stories of teamwork on the fly, such as the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped half a mile underground in Chile in 2010, Edmondson shares the elements needed to turn a group of strangers into a quick-thinking team that can nimbly respond to challenges.

Business school professor Amy Edmondson studies "teaming," where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual problems. Recalling stories of teamwork on the fly, such as the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped half a mile underground in Chile in 2010, Edmondson shares the elements needed to turn a group of strangers into a quick-thinking team that can nimbly respond to challenges.

This talk was presented at a TED Salon event given in partnership with Brightline Initiative. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TED Salons.

About the speaker

Amy C. Edmondson

Amy C. Edmondson

Leadership expert

See speaker profile

Amy C. Edmondson studies people and teams seeking to make a positive difference through the work they do.

Edgar H. Schein | Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2013 | Book

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling

Written by pioneering researcher and MIT professor emeritus Ed Schein, Humble Inquiry is a surprisingly engaging book that shares compelling stories and hard-won personal lessons. Whether you want to lead, to team or both, humility and curiosity are among the most important attributes. Humble Inquiry is "the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person." This is how you unleash people’s talents and efforts. But more broadly, humility in the face of the complex, dynamic, uncertain world in which we all live and work is simply realism.

The Arbinger Institute | Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2015 | Book

Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box

The provocative, if deceptively academic, title Leadership and Self-Deception obscures the powerful humanity of this beautiful book. Its purpose is to convey a model of leadership driven by certain cognitive and emotional interpersonal dynamics. It does this through a story about a man facing challenges at work and home that should be painfully familiar to any high achiever. The book explores how we blind ourselves to harmful effects of some of our well-intentioned actions on others, letting ourselves of the hook and sealing us off from learning. Why should you care? Ultimately, the authors argue, it’s a matter of results. Our interpersonal strategies, despite good intentions, can unwittingly sabotage our own effectiveness — limiting the success of our organizations and ourselves. Anyone who reads this book and takes it seriously is poised for a transformational journey.

Learn more

About TED Salon

TED Salons welcome an intimate audience for an afternoon or evening of highly-curated TED Talks revolving around a globally relevant theme. A condensed version of a TED flagship conference, they are distinct in their brevity, opportunities for conversation, and heightened interaction between the speaker and audience.

Read more about TED Salons

This talk was presented at a TED Salon event given in partnership with Brightline Initiative. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TED Salons.