Todays guest blog is written by Robert Garmston and Valerie von Frank

When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he wasn't sitting alone in his office thinking deep thoughts. He was surrounded by a few dozen scientists working together in the Menlo Park complex, working, in fact, in large open spaces where they could discuss ideas and collaborate. Many of the men even went home together at the end of the day to a nearby boarding house.

Despite popular conceptions that genius is solitary work, research is offering increasing evidence that collaborative groups come up with more and better ideas than do individuals working alone.

Schools have started to shift, out of necessity, from teachers working in isolation to teachers combining efforts to work more strategically. The leader's job is to maximize the potential of these groups. And the first step in maximizing potential is a foundational understanding what makes groups work--and what doesn't. Leaders can begin with three ideas.

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