Abstract for leadership for collective thinking paper

Team Performance

Management

An international Journal

Paper Title: "Leadership for collective thinking in the work place"

Author: T. Martin Ringer

Martin Ringer Consulting, Matapouri, New Zealand

Team Performance Management: An international Journal, Vol. 13 No. 3/4. 2007, pp130-144

Document ID (DOI) 10.1108/13527590710759874

Abstract

Purpose - The intention in writing this paper is: to first to raise awareness in organizations of the

ubiquitous nature of thinking in teams and informal groups; second to provide the reader with conceptual

tools for understanding the subtle dynamics of ‘team-level’ thinking and third to offer some practical

suggestions to leaders and consultants on ways of actively working to increase the quality of collective

thinking in work places.

Approach – The paper is largely theoretical and extends current theory about the utilization of knowledge

and intelligence in teams and organizations.

Findings – The four core elements to effective collective thinking are proposed as: shared clarity of

purpose; emotionally and psychologically mature functioning on the part of key players; the necessity for

psychologically safe ‘thinking spaces’ and shared responsibility for building, maintaining and utilizing the

thinking space. It is further proposed that many essential influences on collective thinking exist outside the

usual limits of awareness – that is, they occur as unconscious processes – and so developing powerful

collective thinking requires that attention be paid to symbolic, non-rational and intuitive patterns in teams

and organizations.

Practical implications – The paper provides theoretical and practical frameworks that enable members of

organizations to directly address factors influencing the quality of collective thinking in the systems in

which they are involved.

Value – The fresh contribution of this paper is largely that it integrates intuitive, subtle and unconscious

dynamics with rational logical principles so as to create powerful new principles to enable leaders and

consultants to enhance organizational effectiveness.

Keywords Group thinking, knowledge management, learning organizations

Paper type Viewpoint

“…leadership solves the problem of how to organize collective effort; consequently, it is

the key to organizational effectiveness.” (Hogan & Kaiser, 2004, p.2)

Please contact the author for copies