What is Group Think? ...and How to Prevent it
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- 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.
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#Project #ProjectManagement #GroupThink
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.
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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! ❤
Thank you very much. I agree.
Really it is an informative lecture on how to prevent Groupthink... Thank you Sir....
You're welcome.
Very nice Presentation on Group thinking
Thanks a lot
Thank you very much for this informative video.
You are welcome!
Excellent 💎
Thank you
Thank you for the session on " How to prevent Group think ".
You're very welcome.
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.
That's great. You're welcome.
Really useful and nice presentation on What is Group Think? ...and How to Prevent it. sir.
Great to hear it!
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 🙏🏽
Tisha, thank you very much for your feedback. I hope your meeting goes well.
Thank you for throwing light on what is Group think and the necessity to prevent it through your session
You're very welcome.
Thanks for such Really useful and nice presentation on What is Group Think? ...and How to Prevent it.
You're welcome.
Useful presentation
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Wonderful session about group thinks and prevent it. More ideas learn this session how to prevent group thinks. Thank you
Glad you got a lot from it.
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
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👍
Really useful and nice presentation sir
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Good lecture on group thinking
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Thx God bless
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Group think is the decision making ,and powerful group well explained sir
Thank you.
Very impressive discussion and explanation. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Informative talk on different tips to derive the best conclusion from a group discussion. Thank you sir.
Thanks - you're welcome.
Sir,
Thank you very much for your excellent information on group behaviour and thinking in an effective way.
You're very welcome.
Group decision making is very important. Thank you so much sir for your informative session
Keep watching
Thank you sir this is practically application of knowledge in group and individual differences.
You are most welcome
Thank you for the lecture on group decision making
You're welcome, Lakshmi.
Very good information
Thank you.
Wonderful session on grp think & preventive measures while in grp . Thankyou Sir.
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What is Group Think? The information in the form of group think is very excellent.
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Really wonderful lecture on what is group think?
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Useful Information. Thank you very much sir
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Thank you for session on How to prevent group think
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Useful information for understanding group thinking
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As as IT Management purpose, this is exactly what I see in standups. Most has great ideas but afraid to bring them up.
Indeed, Peter. The answer is in how you structure the stand-up to draw out the quiet but thoughtful people, and encourage the more assertive team members to spend more time listening (and asking).
Very good
Thank you
Nice presentation . Thank you
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Nice video about group think
Thanks, Mary.
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Useful for me
Glad to hear that
Group thinking is the decision making principles followed by all
Hopefully, we can avoid it.
Very Informative...
Thank you...
Helpful
Thanks
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Really useful tips
Glad you think so!
P[RESENTED EFFECTIVELY
Thank you
(2:58) And the somewhat bullyish types.
Indeed!
Very nice video roll no 102
Thank you - but I'm a little confused.
I seek groupthink in current COVID response.
You'll see it in many, many areas of social and political commentary and decision-making. And usually on multiple sides of a single debate.
Always ask what the evidence is, and how we can interpret it.
@@Onlinepmcourses Thanks for the reply Mike - Perhaps I should have said that I see Groupthink in the LEADERSHIP - I guess another phenomeon applies to those terrified followers ?
@@colinpatterson728 There is group think in the leadership and in the population. And, often (as here in the UK), there is Group Think in different parts of the leadership, coalescing into polarities of thinking. This can easily lead to what's called risky shift - a move to a decision that is more extreme than any party would have advocated for at the outset.
Which way will the group shift? That depends upon things like relative power, in-built biases and social prejudices, and simple things like first speaker advantage.
However, I am trying hard to avoid inferring your perspective. I could equally well be wrong as right. I am not keen to have a debate about specific rights and wrongs of health policies of different nations on this thread. It is completely the wrong place for that. So, any reader should be warned that if that kind of commentary creeps in here, I'll just delete the comment.
@@Onlinepmcourses Again, Mike thank you for the elaboration and I understand your point about 'relevance to this thread' ----I have noted your suggestions about how Groupthink can be avoided or reduced. I think that there must be some qualitative difference between Groupthink in the Leaders and the Followers - Since Leaders 'get together' with certain capabilities at their disposal whereas followers never or rarely experience this sense of 'meeting to decide' nor any sense of agency. I hope my remarks here have kept to the boundaries of this thread - Cheers.
@@colinpatterson728 In the modern world, we don't need to 'get together' to form a point of view nor to succumb to groupthink. Many social media act as engines for groupthink.
That's what al 2020-21 was about. No talk about healing
?
They should teach this in elementary school. But they won't.
They should teach PM at school too. And listening skills, influence, ... Don't get me started!
@@Onlinepmcourses not even for project management but to stop people from burning down the country
@@Onlinepmcourses I'm in college watching this video to learn what group thinking is. I feel it's something we definitely should have learned in elementary school. Loved this video extremely informational! Thank you.
@@ashys6840 You are very welcome.
In few words, for me Groupthink is : the unethical decision behaviour
Ha Ha - yes. Or, better, 'an' unethical decision behavior.
But, joking aside, group think often happens without us being aware of it. But, of course, this does not excuse us from taking steps to eliminate it.
@@Onlinepmcourses Hi Mike, thanks. What about corporate psychopath? Why the term psychopath instead narcissistic?
@@3otabe3 I am not sure where you are going with this and am not comfortable bandying around psychologically meaningful and culturally loaded words like these. What is Group Think? My answer is in the video!
@@Onlinepmcourses just to say the concepts of groupthink, narcissism, and, corporate psychopath overlap
@@3otabe3 Narcissism adn psychopathy are psychiatric dosorders of an individual. Group think is an emergent behavior amongst a group.
Useful for me
Keep watching
Nice
Thank you.
Really useful tips
Thank you, Edward.