It is a common thought that we are smarter when working with groups. The fact of the matter is that this is not always the case; and many times just the opposite. Just as people are less likely to help someone in need if there is a large group present; decisions are often made in groups that are poor due to Groupthink.
Groupthink, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis (1972), is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people. It is the mode of thinking that happens when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative ideas or viewpoints.
In more layman terms, when you are working in a group, you are more likely to avoid expressing your concerns or the cons against a plan of action because you don’t want to cause trouble and/or piss your boss off.
The fact of the matter is, however, that there are major consequences to groupthink and we really do need an “asshole” or someone who is not afraid of getting fired to express concern and poke holes in a plan of action.
Irving Janis documented eight symptoms of groupthink:
- Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
- Collective rationalization – Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
- Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.
- Stereotyped views of out-groups – Negative views of “enemy” make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary.
- Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.
- Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.
- Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.
- Self-appointed ‘mindguards’ – Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.
Examples of groupthink studied by Janis include US failures to anticipate the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the escalation of Vietnam war, and the ill-fated hostage rescue in Iran. Current examples of groupthink can be found in the decisions of the Bush administration and Congress to pursue an invasion of Iraq based on a policy of “preemptive use of military force against terrorists and rogue nations”.
These are large scale examples of Groupthink, but they also happen on a day to basis in companies across the globe and many poor decisions are made in groups because the members wanted cohesiveness and harmony.
If we can work on spotting out and minimizing group think, we can all avoid costly mistakes and decisions.
Decision experts have determined that groupthink may be prevented by following some of the below recommendations:
a) The leader (or someone in the group) should assign the role of critical evaluator to each member. Each member should know that their opinion matters and they should not fear being fired for expressing their concern or opinion.
b) The leader should avoid stating preferences and expectations at the beginning as this typically causes the others to agree and blindly follow without properly weighing out the cons.
c) Each member of the group should routinely discuss the groups’ deliberations with a trusted associate or someone outside of the group and report back to the group on the associate’s reactions.
d) One or more experts should be invited to each meeting on a staggered basis. The outside experts should be encouraged to challenge views of the members.
e) At least one articulate and knowledgeable member should be given the role of devil’s advocate (AKA, the asshole who questions the assumptions and plans).
f) There should be a sizeable block of time set aside to construct alternative scenarios of “what would happen if” and rivals’ intentions.
Working in groups and making group decisions can be extremely helpful and effective, but we all need to be aware of groupthink and work to avoid it.
Humans are a funny species.
Make moves today,
Marc Horne
HC Consulting Group
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Groupthink is a biatch!
Haha. That it is.
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thanks for share!