Difference and challenge in teams
1 The river basin and the bee colony
To introduce this course, before turning to workplace scenarios and reflecting on those, look at two metaphors drawn from nature: the river basin and the bee colony. We must not dwell on these metaphors – that would defeat our aim of giving practical guidance for teams – yet they are useful to bear in mind. They illustrate interesting aspects of team life: aspects that underlie the whole of the course.