Excellence, Collaboration, and Collective Intelligence: The Value of Differing Opinions
25/10/25
Excellence is not the prerogative of a few brilliant individuals or elite teams.In a world where complexity is increasing and change is rapid and unpredictable, the real competitive edge lies in an organization’s ability to activate collective intelligence: an evolved form of group thinking that goes beyond consensus, and instead values dialogue, diversity of thought, and co-creation.
Collective intelligence needs fertile ground — and that ground is called trust. That’s why, in many leadership development initiatives, the first topic we address is precisely trust: without it, people don’t feel free to speak up, ask uncomfortable questions, or challenge prevailing viewpoints.
The role of leadership is to create a space where the team can think together, face ambiguity with new questions, and embrace disagreement not as a problem, but as a resource. To do this, several key ingredients are essential.
The first is curiosity — not generic curiosity, but strategic curiosity, the kind that looks beyond one’s function or sector to discover how others are tackling similar challenges.
The second is the habit of asking questions. If answers become outdated quickly, well-formed questions open up new perspectives and connections.
The third is the courage to experiment, accepting that making mistakes despite thorough preparation is not failure, but is a part of a healthy learning curve on the road to success.
A practical example of activating collective intelligence is the “Question Burst” — a simple yet powerful technique developed by Hal Gregersen at MIT. One person presents a real challenge, and in just four minutes, the group generates as many questions as possible — without judging or explaining. The goal is not to solve, but to explore: to bring to the surface new angles and new ways of viewing the problem.
Another powerful enabler is the ability to attentively observe organizational pain points — those small, everyday frictions that slow down, complicate, or rigidify processes. Behind every bottleneck, there may be a hidden opportunity for improvement.
Excellence is not a destination, but a constant striving toward something better.And it is born where there is trust, and where diversity of thought is nurtured.
