What is Group Think? ...and How to Prevent it

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Group Think is nasty. It leads to poor decisions... sometimes dangerous ones. So Project Managers need to know what it is, how it happens, and how to prevent it.

Group Think was first identified in the 1970s, by the social psychologist Irving Janis.

Janis found that the group’s dynamic can inhibit the exploration of alternatives. People find disagreement uncomfortable. So, the group looks for consensus before it is properly ready. As the group approaches consensus, it rejects dissenting voices.

Janis said:
‘Concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.’

Group Think leads to decisions based on ‘what we all know’.
Members feel inhibited from challenging the consensus and relevant information, ideas, challenges are not fully introduced.

The group tends to higher collective confidence in a decision than individuals have in the same decision made individually. Groups tend to endorse higher risk decisions than the individuals would. Perhaps this is because of the degree of confidence group members have in certain individuals. This is called 'Risky Shift’.

Other features of Poor Group Decision-Making
People with more extreme positions are more likely than others to have clear arguments supporting their positions and are also most likely to voice them. This enhances risky shift.

The order in which people speak can also affect the course of a discussion. Earlier comments are more influential in framing the discussion and molding opinions.

Once people have expressed an opinion in a group, it can be hard, psychologically, for them to change their minds.

Charismatic, authoritative, and trusted individuals can also skew the debate around their perspectives – which will not always be objective or ‘right’.

Finally, it takes time for a group to discuss a topic and time is often at a premium. There will be pressure to curtail discussion and move to a decision.

Towards Better Group Decisions
1. Start with a diverse team.
2. Don’t let leaders, experts, or charismatic individuals state their opinions or preference upfront
3. Start with a round-robin of facts, data, and evidence. Follow up with another round robin of comments, questions, and interpretations of that evidence. This forms a solid base for discussions.
4. If you must take a vote, put it off until after discussion and then ideally, do a secret ballot to establish the balance.
5. Appoint a devil’s advocate to find flaws in data and arguments.
6. Before a decision is finalized, ask everyone to take the position of a critical evaluator and look for errors, flaws, and risks.
7. Divide the team into subgroups to discuss the issues and have them debate the decision.
8. Invite outsiders into the team to create greater diversity of thinking and overcome prejudices and confirmation bias.
9. Give all team members equal access to raw data, so they can re-analyze it for themselves.
10. Facilitate the discussion to ensure every voice is heard and respected – even the least senior and least forceful members of the group. If they deserve their place in the group, consider their perspectives to be of equal value.

Recommended Videos
Carefully curated video recommendations for you:
- Handling Contradictions - How Well do you Cope with Uncertainty?
- How to Succeed in Project Management: 8 Skills to Cultivate
- Three Concepts to Make You a Smarter Project Manager
- Three Kinds of Stupid: Avoid Project Failure
- Avoid Project Failure: 5 Top Tips

I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own.
Note that the links are affiliated.

#Project #ProjectManagement #GroupThink

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If you want to play at any but the lowest level of Project Management, you need to understand the basics of decision-making. And knowing what Group Think is, and how to prevent it, are an important starting point.

Onlinepmcourses

Thank you, this will surely help me in my exam!!
🍀

ImJuustPro

Every company in the planet should bring spaces and time to employees and teams to discuss and learn about this so important topic. Great content! Thanks a lot! ❤

villamiz

This was very helpful. I'm facilitating a meeting tomorrow where there is a very dominant personality. Though this person is very well meaning, others in the group are less experienced and hold these options being expressed in high esteem. There is also a lot of emotion attached. Again, thank you for a valuable video 🙏🏽

zigtgut

Really it is an informative lecture on how to prevent Groupthink... Thank you Sir....

dr.otpoongodi

Thank you very much Mike. The explanation about Group Think allowed me to get a better approach on the assignment that I'm working for my Decision-Making course. I really appreciate it.

josecarlosnarvaezherrera

Thanks for such Really useful and nice presentation on What is Group Think? ...and How to Prevent it.

mukundshende

Really useful and nice presentation on What is Group Think? ...and How to Prevent it. sir.

umakantdeshmukh

Thank you for throwing light on what is Group think and the necessity to prevent it through your session

dr.g.keerthi

Thank you for the session on " How to prevent Group think ".

jaydevsinhrayjada

Informative session on different tips from a group discussion. How to prevent Group think well explained about Group think of decision making and powerful Group Thank you sir for the presentation

prashantshinde