The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups

Description

Experts in psychology and organisational development reveal how to create teams that really work How many people does the ideal team contain? How do groups bond, earn trust and forge shared identities? How can leaders build environments adaptable enough to respond to shocks and still enable people to thrive together? How can you feel close to people if your only point of contact is a phone or a computer? The principal reason that so many organisations struggle is that they fail to understand the human factor- they make assumptions about how people tick that wholly ignore the 200,000 years of evolutionary design that went into producing them. So it's no surprise that the end result all too often is inefficiency, lack of imagination and low morale. In The Social Brain, Oxford anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, and organisational development experts Tracey Camilleri and Sam Rockey, explain how human brains and human networks really work. They show how to make the best use of them. And they dissect the science and art of leadership, providing insights into how to create organisations in which people can learn, develop and thrive - and be resilient in the face of change and disruption.

Tracey Camilleri is an Associate Fellow at Oxford University's Said Business School and the co-founder, along with Sam Rockey, of Thompson Harrison. Earlier in her career she variously ran her own consulting company, WMC Communications. Sam Rockey is an Associate Fellow at the Oxford S id Business School Open programme and was formerly the Global Head of Leadership Development at the FTSE top-10 company SABMiller, now part of AB InBev. Robin Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford, an Emeritus Fellow of Magdalen College, and an elected Fellow of the British Academy. He is best known for the social brain hypothesis, the gossip theory of language evolution and Dunbar's Number (the limit of 150 on the number of relationships that we can manage). His books include The Human Story, Evolutionary Psychology- A Beginner's Guide, and Thinking Big.

We are a species whose social relationships have profound impacts on us physiologically, psychologically and socially, orientating us towards health and pro-social behaviour or away from them. In this remarkable and important book, international researchers and pioneers guide readers through the research on the evolution and social dynamics of small groups and how to cultivate them to bring out the best in us, rather than the worst. This book is a highly accessible, timely and invaluable guide to anybody working in groups, including businesses, schools and governments. -- Prof Paul Gilbert OBE, author of THE COMPASSIONATE MIND, and founder of compassion focussed therapy Ever since the Industrial Revolution, an engineering mindset has dominated management thinking, making it easy for managers to forget that, ultimately, productive work is human. This wonderful book reminds us that businesses are also biological and social: created by living beings who can - and want to - transcend individual capacity with collective intelligence. It could not be more timely, wise and useful. -- Margaret Heffernan, author of Wilful Blindness The world, particularly post the COVID-19 pandemic, is desperate for compassionate leaders who show disproportionate regard for community, belonging and fellowship. The Social Brain is a clarion call for all leaders to heed. -- Dr Alistair Mokoena, Director of Google South Africa The hardest part of the modern leader's job isn't strategy, finance or technology: the biggest challenge in today's corporation is human-shaped: how to lead the tribes and the talent to deliver your plans. This thoughtful and charming book provides an essential and evidence-based map to our humanity. Buy it for yourself and your colleagues. Essential reading. -- Mark Earls, author of HERD The perfect compass for those seeking to create not only healthy teams, but high-performing ones. -- Owen Eastwood, performance coach, speaker and author of BELONGING