creative bliss

Groupthink is when a group of people are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group and their striving for unanimity overrides their motivation to discuss alternative options. The term was coined by psychologist Irving Janis in the 70s. When the cohesiveness is high, close-knit groups try to minimize conflict to reach consensus and may take inferior decisions that kill imagination. Groups are highly selective when examining information and fail to seek expert opinion. Members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the group’s comfort zone for fear of upsetting the group’s balance. In pursuit of group cohesiveness, individual creativity, uniqueness, and independent thinking may be lost.

There are eight symptoms of groupthink to look out for:

• illusion of invulnerability – excessive optimism
• belief in inherent morality of the group – causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions
• collective rationalization – not challenging the group’s assumptions
• out-group stereotypes – those who are opposed to the group are perceived as weak, biased, spiteful, or stupid
• self-censorship – censoring ideas that deviate from the group consensus
• illusion of unanimity – silence is viewed as agreement
• direct pressure on dissenters – towards any member who questions the group
• self appointed mindguards – members who shield the group from dissenting information

Most commonly cited examples of groupthink are:

• Bay of pigs invasion of Cuba by the Kennedy administration
• Roosevelt’s complacency before Pearl Harbor
• Truman’s invasion of North Korea
• Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam war
• Watergate
• Regan’s Iran-Contra arms deals
• Truman’s decision to bomb Hiroshima
• Challenger NASA space shuttle disaster
• More recent examples: Enron, Northern Rock, Lehman Bros, RBS and HBOS

So how can we avoid groupthink:

• Use external experts
• Set-up multiple working groups
• Appoint a “devil’s advocate”
• Senior management to avoid expressing opinions
• Discus ideas with trusted people outside of the group
• Examine all effective alternatives

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