Agile Mentors Podcast from Mountain Goat Software #171: Why Agile Teams Succeed—or Don’t with Colin Fisher
Dec 17, 2025
Colin Fisher, organizational behavior expert and author of The Collective Edge, blends research and real practice to rethink team performance. He explores why teams fail due to group systems, the ideal team size (about 4.5), how to launch teams with clear roles and goals, keeping communication consistent in hybrid work, and turning conflict into productive debate.
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Colin's Return To Jazz Performances
- Colin revived his jazz playing after moving to London and performs with Suede Jazz Collective.
- He mentions Thursday night jam sessions at a club called Grow as a recurring personal example.
Optimal Team Size For Real Collaboration
- Groups have an optimal collaboration size around 4.5 people where everyone can participate and stay aligned.
- Colin Fisher cites Richard Hackman's study and the dinner analogy: beyond ~5 people conversations splinter and coordination collapses.
Prepare Teams Before The First Meeting
- Invest time before teams meet and in the launch meeting because those stages determine most performance.
- Fisher references Hackman's 60-30 rule: 60% set before meeting (membership, task, goals) and 30% in the first launch meeting.
