Watch What You Don't Say



Posted: Thursday, August 30, 2007

by
Garmon Solutions

Have you ever been in a staff meeting and had a great idea on the tip of your tongue but to keep the peace you decided not to speak up? Do you know that you could have been a victim of groupthink? With more and more companies decentralizing and relying on teams to make exceptional decisions, it has become imperative for those involved in the process to voice their opinions. It has been shown where conflict arises profitable changes can occur. For many, it is within our natural comforts not to be confrontational but to bend to the conformity of those around us. There is a certain amount of solitude that can be found in disappearing into the crowd. The problem that occurs is that by suppressing diverse opinions, and giving into anothers point of view, the decision looses options and thus opportunities. This phenomenon is known as groupthink.

Effective managers must realize that groupthink occurs when the decision-making body becomes motivated to avoid being critical in their judgments of their leaders or colleagues ideas. They adopt a soft line criticism, even in their own thinking. At their meetings, all the members are amiable and seek complete concurrence on every important issue, with no bickering or conflict to spoil the cozy, we-feeling atmosphere. If you want to employ good decisions, you cannot let this happen. Here are four red flags to spot that might indicate groupthink is occurring at your next meeting.

The first is when group members start to take back what they initially argued for at the first sight of only slight resistance. Secondly, when other members through body language or verbal criticism, pressure doubters to support the alternative that everyone else wants to go with. Next, look to see if those that initially expressed disagreement suddenly withdraw from the conversation and become absent in the discussion. Lastly, when you start to hear silence and interpret it as a yes vote for the majority.

The key here is for a leader to be able to successfully recognize the symptoms and stop the escalation of groupthink immediately. You have to be able to recognize that the more laid back and amiable the group is among its members, the greater the danger that independent critical thinking is being suppressed. To circumvent this altogether, it would be beneficial before the meeting for the leader to define groupthink for everyone as to make those involved aware and watchful. The technique that I use is a method I call cross fire. If time allows and everyone has decided on their opinion, force them to take the opposite point of view and argue that position. This has helped to eliminate biases and has produced better results for my organization.

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