If Coherence At A Group Level Is Essential for Effective Collaboration, How Do We Achieve Group Coherence?

It’s often said that if we want to create a world where things work very differently from how they’ve worked up until now, it’s going to take tapping into something called “group coherence” and “collective intelligence”.

Group coherence refers to operating as a unified whole.

Coherence at the group level is essential for effective collaboration.

And Collective Intelligence is the shared or group intelligence that emerges from that effective collaboration.

Out at the cutting edges of this conversation, it’s also said that group coherence and collective intelligence are a function of an anti-fragile and anti-rivalrous culture.

But what does this term “Anti Fragile” mean?

And what does it mean to form anti fragile bonds with other people?

And why would you even want to do that?

Anti fragility is the result of being tested and living up to the challenge over and over again.

If you think of something fragile, it breaks easily or is easily damaged.

Whereas something anti fragile is open and adaptable and able to withstand the impact of external forces without being damaged or overcome by them.

When it comes to relationships and forming anti fragile bonds with other people, that means that the relationship is strong enough to withstand life’s challenges.

So why is that important?

Because supporting open, free flowing and anti fragile relational dynamics is essential for adaptability in today’s rapidly changing world.

If you think about it in the context of a tribe focussed on ensuring the survival of the group (a little like the stags in the accompanying image), the type of closeness, the depth of connection and the amount of awareness of the people around you that was necessary to constantly be meeting the challenges of a harsh unknown environment were tremendous.

As such, our human physiology is a by-product of the cultivation of these kinds of anti-fragile relationships.