In fast growth, globally diverse world, organizations and challenges are looking for “extreme teaming”: intense collaboration across professions and industries that often have completely different mindsets. To do this successfully requires practicing new forms of leadership, humility and curiosity - and teaming. In 2016, via a case study on Living PlanIT, Harvard professor Amy Edmondson gave a talk to the IOC (Instute of Coaching) on “teaming,” where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual problems. In this case study, a disparate group of software entrepreneurs, real estate developers, city government officials, architects, construction companies, and technology corporations needed to successfully collaborate. This is a deeper dive helpful for coaches, leaders and anyone leading cross-industry collaboration efforts. Amy’s slides are also available for download.

In this great TED talk, Amy Edmondson touches on the power of co-creation, motivation towards a common, meaningful goal. She dives into the subjects of diverse teaming, brave spaces e.g. psychological safety and the power of Why and What beyond a how.By recalling stories of teamwork on the fly, such as the rescue of 33 miners 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.

Author Frieda Klotz writes: “Technology has made business more globally connected than ever before, allowing organizations to join forces across professions, geographies, and industries. This is especially true for innovation projects, where diverse experts bring their specialized knowledge into play.

But there’s a hitch: These kinds of team projects have built-in hurdles because of differing communication styles, cultures, and professional norms.” In the conversation with Amy Edmondson, she dives in a bit deeper to the subjects of humility, curiosity and openness in order to “extreme team”.

I was very happily surprised that the book on Extreme Teams was available as an audiobook online. If you have 7 hours and don’t want to buy the book, definitely worth a car trip/waiting around at the airport listen in. Robert Bruce Shaw gives a good analysis on the success factors, mission and principles over process of a few companies known for their strength in innovation.

While chairing a Learning Futures event last year in Zurich, I had the opportunity to talk with LBS Professor Randall Peterson about team productivity, member diversity and performance measures.

In this LBS live talk, he dives into the elements to create strong teams. He talks about the challenges of “cross-overs of thought-worlds” of specialists and how making beliefs or assumptions explicit is not self-explanatory. He gives recommendations beyond coordinating agendas. Randall is doing some interesting research out of LBS and his thinking is worth checking out.

Adam Grant’s WorkLife is a good podcast focusing on “how to make work not suck”. In this edition, Adam dives into the topic of trust, why the strongest bonds are formed in challenging situations, how the tendency to go to people we like and trust can be detrimental to solving challenges. Adam put the transcript on LinkedIn.

What’s the secret to unlocking the creativity hidden inside your daily work, and giving every great idea a chance? Harvard professor Linda Hill, co-author of “Collective Genius,” has studied some of the world’s most creative companies to come up with a set of tools and tactics to keep great ideas flowing – from everyone in the company, not just the designated “creatives.” Innovation and creation are not part of most job titles - but they are the spirit necessary to do either well.

This is the 2018 human resources trends study (yes, I know it is 2019 but it is still January, so the info is still viable), where Mercer dives into what they mean by the Human Age of Growth. The topics: change at speed, working with purpose, permanent flexibility, platform of talent, and digital from the inside out. All elements fostering extreme teaming. Worth a download. For nerdy types like me there are also separate trend reports by industry, country.