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Groupthink: the danger of compromise

Life is about making hard choices, not ducking the issues. Groupthink makes it harder for us to choose properly; it is a delusional process that exploits the members of a group and costs organizations dearly.

groupthink

Picture credit: khrawlings

You have probably experienced groupthink during meetings and may have fallen into its clutches occasionally; perhaps despite fairly strong feelings or personal reservations about the fairness and sensibility of some of the decisions you have supported while groupthinking.

The valid opinions and due concerns of members are always at risk of being steam-rollered by groupthinking groups.

Once groupthink takes a grip, the affected group members are at risk of being gulled into unthinking acquiescence and a consequent, downward spiral of individual and collective weakness. For sure, groupthink is a powerful force and it can be hard to resist.

But it’s all about compromising principles and abrogating individual responsibility, in the mistaken belief that the short-term advantage of group harmony will provide long-term satisfaction through the avoidance of proper consideration.

The consequences of groupthinking are invariably poor decision-making and damaged integrity.

So how can you reduce your susceptibility to groupthink?

Keep an open mind and be prepared to grow your thinking but always stick to your principles with a clear conscience.

Take a couple of minutes to reflect on how groupthink has affected you and your organization, have you got any advice or experiences that might help others to avoid or reduce the effects of groupthink?

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  • Dave Cross

    Colin,
    This post sparked some emotion – thanks. Yes, principled and single-minded leadership has it’s place, but there is no denying the wisdom of crowds. Perhaps a question of context? For example, you probably wouldn’t want your tech start-up executive decision making run by comittee, and on the other hand you might not want a single entity to be responsible for the development of a new open communications platform standard. Best wishes.

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  • http://www.dartnell-ltd.co.uk Andrew Turner

    Colin,
    If by GROUPTHINK you mean decisions taken by a committee led (probably) by a strong-willed individual trying to impose his views on others, then the process can lead to suboptimal outcomes (e.g. a camel instead of a horse). If, however, GROUPTHINK is the amalgam and distillation of independent views freely offered, then decisions and outcomes are often superior to those arrived at by other means. This is the real meaning of “the wisdom of crowds”. Regards.

    • http://www.colin-beveridge.com Colin Beveridge

      Andrew

      thanks for your input.

      I regard groupthink in the commonly accepted usage (nicely described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink) i.e. the self-reinforcing suppression of topic analysis, in favour of group avoidance of confrontation.

      So, to me, groupthink is a counter-productive [collective] state of mind, rather than a process – and therefore the converse of “the wisdom of crowds,” which I take to represent the proper distillation of solutions and strategies from the freely stated opinions and considerations of a group.

  • Deb

    Groupthink can cripple an organization or committee. However if there is a strong facilitator, groupthink can easily be overcome.

  • Steve Apostolou

    I’ve found that appointing someone as devil’s advocate is a fun way to counter the evils of groupthink.

  • http://www.briercliffe.com Mike Briercliffe

    The way to avoid the pitfalls of Groupthink is to be the boss, be right more often than you’re wrong, and go with your guts. Fundamental Leadership is a million times more effective than committees and democracy.