Teamcraft

Feb 19 2025 22 ep. 57 mins 5
Teamcraft Podcast artwork

In the Teamcraft Podcast, hosts Andrew MacLaren and Mark Ridley explore the tradecraft and witchcraft of teams. Through deep, insightful conversations they uncover how teams work and what makes them fail.

Music by Tom Farrington

  Business
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Understanding the importance of personality

Feb 19 2025 51 mins  
In this episode of Teamcraft, Andrew and Mark are joined by Nikita Mikhailov, an expert in psychometrics, psychologist and co-author of the book 'Personality, a User's Guide.' We dive into how understanding personality and individual differences can inform talent selection, development decisions, relationships, and even culture. Nikita explains self-narratives, personality traits l

The origins and benefits of team psychological safety

Feb 03 2025 81 mins  
Psychological safety is a crucial but often misunderstood concept in modern organizations. In this episode, Andrew and Mark take a deep dive into its origins, how it became a foundational principle of high-performing teams, and why "safe to challenge" can sometimes backfire if implemented poorly. We explore the history, research, and practical applications of psychological safety,

Punks & Pitches - Teams Inside Venture Capital

Dec 16 2024 61 mins  
In this Teamcraft episode, Andrew and Mark are joined by Laura Wilming, Head of Portfolio Talent at Octopus Ventures, to explore the dynamics of startup teams and venture capital. From handing out samples at a supermarket during BrewDog’s early days to scaling Harry’s from a team of of only twelve people, we hear about Laura’s journey culminating in her insights from working

Virtual Teams (Part 2) - Mars Missions and Meeting Rooms

Nov 14 2024 57 mins  
In this Teamcraft episode, continuing the earlier discussion in Part 1, Andrew and Mark dive deeper into the challenges and dynamics of virtual teams. They build on previous discussions, drawing from real-world examples, research insights, and their own experiences to explore the nuances of remote and hybrid team collaboration. Exploring communication protocols, cultural difference

Virtual Teams (Part 1) - From Smoke Signals to Video Calls

Nov 11 2024 44 mins  
In this episode, Mark Ridley and Andrew Maclaren explore the evolution and challenges of virtual teams. Inspired by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s recent call for employees to return to the office, our hosts discuss what defines a virtual team, the importance of trust and shared context, and how physical environments impact team dynamics. Historical examples, from Byzantine smoke signal

Social Loafing and the Ringelmann Effect

Sep 18 2024 63 mins  
In this episode, Mark and Andrew dig into the story of the Ringelmann Effect, a phenomenon first observed by French academic Max Ringelmann that suggests that individuals produce less output when they’re in a group. They explore the historical context of Ringelmann's research and compare it with later research that coined the terms ‘social loafing’ and ‘the Sucker effect’

Team-Based Learning in Education

Sep 04 2024 66 mins  
In this episode, Mark and Andrew welcome the award winning Dr. Gemma Quinn, Associate Professor in Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Bradford. Gemma discusses her pioneering work in implementing team-based learning (TBL) as a teaching strategy in pharmacy education. She explains the TBL structure, including the formation of diverse student teams, pre-work, readiness assurance

The intricacies of language in teamwork - Chomsky, Pinker and friends

Jun 04 2024 51 mins  
In this episode, Andrew explores the intricate role language plays in effective teamwork. We delve into the evolutionary anthropology of language, debates in linguistics and a comparison of the works of Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker, and the impact of communication protocols in high-stakes environments like aviation and deep space missions. We learn about the distinctions between

Assembling and managing teams in law firms

May 14 2024 55 mins  
"The lawyer should be on tap, but never on top. It's got to be the client's issue. It's got to be their fight, and you should be there ready for the advice, ready for putting the case, whatever it is" In this episode, Mark and Andrew welcome Hannah Blom-Cooper, a seasoned civil fraud lawyer and partner at Greenberg Traurig. Hannah provides a fascinating look into the world of litig

Systems thinking in teams - socio-technical design and the Tavistock Institute

Apr 19 2024 50 mins  
In this Teamcraft episode, Mark and Andrew talk about their fascination with the origins and evolution of the word "team", and how it came to indicate near-magical properties of cooperation when compared to other words like ‘group’, or perhaps, ‘committee’... The journey starts with the discovery that there are some misattributions of the word team gaining its special meani