3 signs that you are in a group not a team

Think about the last time you were part of a group, where someone proposed an idea that you thought was quite poor. However, everyone else in the group agreed with the person who suggested the idea and the group seemed set on pursuing that course of action.

When you see this happening it’s a pretty good indicator that groupthink is occurring and preventing creative thinking, effective decision making, efficient problem solving and goals being met.

What is Groupthink?

It is a psychological phenomenon in which people strive for consensus within a group. In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group.

People who are opposed to the decisions or overriding opinion of the group as a whole frequently remain quiet, preferring to keep the peace rather than disrupt the uniformity of the crowd.

Why does groupthink occur?

In many cases, people end up engaging in groupthink when they fear that their objections might disrupt the harmony of the group or suspect that their ideas might cause other members to reject them. Members place emphasis on everyone agreeing and want to be on good terms with the group no matter what the cost.

Situations where the group is placed under extreme stress or where moral dilemmas exist also increase the occurrence of groupthink, as does a strong persuasive charismatic leader.

Symptoms of groupthink

These fall into 3 broad categories:

Over confidence in the groups power
Limited thinking about a problem
Pressure to comply within the group

Over confidence in the groups power

You will see the group become overly optimistic and take big risks believing they are invincible. Alternatively you see members of the group rationalize thoughts or suggestions that challenge what the majority is thinking.  This causes them to ignore warning signs.

Limited thinking about a problem

There is a belief that whatever the group does it will be right as they all know the difference between right and wrong. This leads members to ignore possible moral problems and ignore consequences of individual and group actions.

You may also get members stereotyping. This leads members of the in-group to ignore or even demonize other group members who may oppose or challenge the group’s ideas.

Pressure to comply

The majority directly threaten the person who questions decisions by telling them that they can always leave the group if they don’t want to agree. Direct pressure to conform is often placed on members who pose questions, and those who question the group are often seen as disloyal or traitorous.

Alternatively, members of the group take it upon themselves to discourage different ideas from being expressed in the group. These "Mindguards" act as self-appointed censors to hide problematic information from the group.

This can result in people who have doubts to hiding their fears or misgivings.

How to Prevent or Minimise Groupthink

There are steps that you can take to minimize this problem when you see it occurring or prevent it from happening:

• Breaking up members into smaller independent teams can be helpful.
• As the leader of the group avoid stating your opinions or preferences when assigning tasks. Give people time to come up with their own ideas first.
• Discuss the group’s ideas with an outside member in order to get impartial opinions.
• Encourage group members to remain critical. Don't discourage dissent or challenges to the prevailing opinion. Encourage alternative views and challenging of ideas.
• As the leader be absent from many group meetings to avoid overly influencing decisions.
• Have a process in place for checking the fundamental assumptions behind important decisions, for validating the decision-making process.
• Utilise group techniques like brainstorming and six thinking hats when exploring a problem. 

It would be great to hear your stories on where you have overcome groupthink, so please share them. We can all learn from your success.

"The important thing about groupthink is that it works not so much by censoring dissent as by making dissent seem somehow improbable."

James Surowiecki