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GroupThink Index
The term "groupthink" has become a standard way of describing a special
phenomenon that can and does occur in groups. If a group experiences groupthink, it has
developed a set of shared perspectives that may be unrealistic but are strongly supported
by the members of the group. The GroupThink Index helps teams gauge the effectiveness of
their decision-making progress - and catch hidden tendencies toward hasty, lazy, or
self-satisfied group thinking.
Overview
The
phenomenon of groupthink seems to develop as a group becomes more
cohesive and less critical of its own decisions. For example, a group
may decide on a plan of action that a few of the members propose and
support. Without a debate or critical thinking, the rest of the group
goes along with this plan because its concern for unanimity and
solidarity outweighs its desire to discuss other, and perhaps more
valid, points of view.
The danger to any group is that the quality of a decision may be weak,
yet the group strongly believes in the correctness of its position and
ignores conflicting views. The end result may be a decision of such
poor quality that it fails to achieve its intended purpose or creates
other more serious problems.
Development
The
author facilitated a team building session with a senior management
team. It was the afternoon of the second day and the learning
experience had gone exceptionally well. People who had barely spoken
to one another before the program now shared their hopes and dreams
with the entire team. They had clearly reached a new level of team
development, a stage of good feelings, esprit de corps, and closeness.
Then the group undertook a standard consensus exercise. It was a
survival problem in which a limited number of available items must be
used creatively if the group is to survive. The group members
approached their work with excitement and determination. They were now
a team and nothing could stop them. Unfortunately, they were so eager
to agree with one another that they accepted weak rationales for items
without thinking critically of challenging the assumptions on which
they were based.
Of course, the results were disastrous, and they were disappointed
with themselves and with their performance. What could have gone
wrong? The author sensed it was the new level of cohesiveness that got
in their way. They had worked so hard during the previous
day-and-a-half that they did not want to disagree over what seemed to
be a relatively unimportant project. They went along with one another
to preserve the group's unity, and the results were far less than they
were capable of achieving.
If only there was some way to help them understand the positive and
negative effects of cohesiveness. Other than explaining the concept of
groupthink, there was no convincing tool. After the session the author
resolved to create an instrument that could help groups break out of
the pleasant state of good feelings they often achieve. It was
important to move them to a state of interdependence where challenges
to group members could have the effect of stimulating greater group
effort, not tearing down what they had already built.
How And
When To Administer GroupThink Index
The GTI
is used most effectively in the context of a team development
intervention. It is appropriate for senior management teams, project
teams, cross-functional teams, self-managing teams, and a variety of
other teams. Because the concept of groupthink is a more sophisticated
notion of what can go wrong in group decision making, it is not useful
for all teams. Teams benefiting from this instrument will have a
higher level of education, experience, and skill, in addition to being
more mature in their interpersonal relationships. The facilitator will
need to make a careful assessment of the team and its members before
introducing the GTI.
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