Look out for the following symptoms in your team to identify groupthink: 1. Groupthink has the following impact on the workplace: Such an environment does not allow differing ideas that may offer a better solution to the problem. Once a team falls into this trap, independent thinking is suppressed over creating harmony in the workplace. The pressure brought on by stress can lead to members accepting the consensus as long as the discussion ends. Also, the perception of specific employees being more qualified than others can easily lead to this phenomenon. If members lack information about the topic under discussion, they are more likely to indulge in groupthink and agree with whatever is presented. Related reading: discover how to improve create a diversity recruitment strategy 4. Research suggests that culturally diverse workplaces are 70% more likely to capture new markets. If you have hiring biases towards a particular group of people, you rob your organization of a holistic view in arguments or discussions. They perceive themselves as superior and outsiders inferior.Ī contrary opinion may even be received as immoral and therefore not worth their consideration. Having employees with similar backgrounds and values is a significant cause of groupthink. Related reading: discover how to create a culture of open communication 3. These opinions are not necessarily the right ones for the company, as in the examples above. Also, popular, outspoken persons overpower the quiet ones and have their opinions carry the day. Strong charismatic leaders tend to influence the team's decisions. Poor leadershipĪ closed leadership style is a perfect recipe for groupthink. Nobody shares contrary opinions, especially if the members tend to exclude dissenters.Īs a result, employees self-sensor when they know the reaction of the team leader or the rest of the group will be negative.īusinesses miss out on creative feedback resulting in the adoption of terrible decisions that may cost you. One of the biggest problems with small teams is nobody wants to be the odd one out. Groupthink is highly likely if your company has unclear decision-making structures, is siloed from external influences, and members share the same background. The strategies these leaders made led to its failure. The remaining directors easily agreed on everything since they shared similar backgrounds and values. The company was financially successful in its heyday, but a few directors' dismissals led to a lack of alternative ideas and industrial expertise. The lack of an alternative view led to adopting a poorly thought-out advert.Īnother example is the fall of the flying bank, as Swiss Air was fondly called. The more feasible explanation is that the team must have been a victim of groupthink. Since such a campaign involves a lot of people, it is inconceivable that no one noticed and challenged its rollout. The public viewed the ad as insensitive and thought the company wanted to make sales out of a serious issue. When Pepsi rolled out the Black Lives Matter Ad featuring Kendall Jenner in 2017, they were unprepared for the backlash they received. Groupthink is more prevalent in small groups as cohesion precedes individual thinking. When employees start feeling invulnerable and take the moral high ground on ideas emanating from their team, they are bound to miss danger signs along the way. He conducted extensive research, revealing that bad decisions follow when teams lack creative friction. Janis was puzzled by why some teams can make excellent decisions but make the worst judgments in others. The term gained popularity in 1972 through the book Victims of Groupthink by Irving L Janis. Employees choose to remain quiet even when organizations adopt bad ideas. Businesses suffer as a result due to a general lack of new ideas. Groupthink refers to the psychological phenomenon where people support popular decisions at the expense of their own opinions.Ĭohesion is good, but it stifles critical thinking and creativity in this case. In this post, we discuss that and much more. It is wise to learn how to recognize the symptoms of groupthink in the workplace to avoid the pitfall it brings. NASA might have avoided the disaster if the experts had not followed the majority opinion and voiced their concerns. Engineers were aware of faulty parts before the launch, but they kept quiet. The Challenger Space Shuttle disaster proves how dangerous the phenomenon can be. Groupthink can lead companies to ignore warning signs and go down destructive paths. When individuals are not allowed to express their ideas, they become disengaged and may even stop contributing. While creating a cohesive and collaborative environment is vital, it should not be at the expense of critical thinking and creativity. How do employees in your organization reach a consensus when making decisions as a team?
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