Overcoming groupthink

I think that if managed and led effectively, groups can be more effective. Of course as you mentioned earlier, there are a couple of pitfalls. Groupthink is potentially VERY DESTRUCTIVE. Industries and government organizations are wrought with examples of where groups fell victim to groupthink, with catastrophic consequences. Groupthink was one of the contributing factors to the Space Shuttle disaster of 1986. There are others in recent history…the list is long.


Here are a few ways to overcome groupthink:

Teach group leaders to avoid seeming partial to one course of action.

Foster a group culture where it’s permissible to advocate their position.

If the group is large enough, create subgroups to work on the same problem.

Have group members discuss the issues with outsiders and report back to the group.

Invite outside experts to observe and evaluate group processes.

Assign someone to be the “devil’s advocate” at each meeting.

Hold “last chance” meetings including outside, critical guests to look at the final product.

These are just a few that I’ve used in the recent past. They seem to work most of the time…or maybe I just got lucky. I have been exposed to groups where one or more of the members were in my opinion, “megalomaniacs” with leadership titles... it was truly exhausting. Watch out for this!

This is just my two cents.