#46 Dr. Karen Eilers and Christiaan Verwjis on researching team effectiveness

This episode dives into the substance behind “agile mindset,” stripping away jargon to uncover what really makes teams effective in complex, fast-moving environments. Karen and Christiaan share findings from their ongoing research, revealing four shared dimensions of agility within teams. Listeners gain insight into how mindsets shift — both individually and collectively — and why this matters for real-world performance and job satisfaction. The conversation highlights the need for psychological safety, real learning environments, and the limitations of relying solely on rituals or new tools. The research is ongoing, with opportunities for the community to take part and help create actionable, scientific evidence for what makes teams thrive.

Dr. Karen Eilers — Business psychologist at BSP Business and Law School in Hamburg. Specializes in the psychology of work in complex environments, with research focusing on psychological safety, mindset, and how teams thrive in uncertainty.

Christiaan Verwijs — Organizational psychologist, co-founder of The Liberators and Columinity. Background in software engineering, now focused on applying scientific evidence to improve teams and organizations through research on the agile mindset.

Dr. Karen Eilers on LInkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-karen-eilers/

Christian Verwijs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiaanverwijs/

Contact: https://columinity.com/research

Blogpost about preliminary findings: https://blog.columinity.com/how-a-team-level-agile-mindset-shapes-team-effectiveness/

Link for people to participate (and get immediate actionable feedback): https://questionnaire.columinity.com/setup/model/agilemindset

Scientific paper on Agile Mindset: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162522001822

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