Groupthink

Earlier this year I wrote about the business case for diversity – you can read it here – and explained that a diverse team is a must-have for success in business or in achieving any worthwhile goal. Today, I want to take it a step further and explain that without diversity you get trapped in groupthink.

Groupthink is real. We’ve all seen it; we all know the effects of it. It happens because everyone agrees with everyone else; they miss something vital; nobody ever raises their hand to disagree.

Productive disagreement is vital. Why? Because our brains are wired to grow and learn only when we’re challenged. We cannot grow and learn – which means we cannot solve new problems; we cannot challenge the status quo; we cannot lead – if we continue to surround ourselves with the same people, the same ideas, the same old same old.

We have to be challenged. We cannot be inventive or creative – which is necessary for problem-solving and high performance – unless we are challenged.

How is it we get challenged? There are two ways. Number one, we hear something we haven’t heard before. Someone comes up with a new point of view and we think, “Oh okay – wow. I never thought about it that way. I didn’t know that existed. I didn’t know that was a problem.” We are confronted by something new.

The second way we learn is if someone challenges what we think we know. In other words, they disagree. “Actually, I don’t think that’s right. I think it’s this way.”

When we form teams where people can challenge each other – not disrespectfully – but, in a way that says, “I don’t agree and here’s why; here’s what you’re missing” – the outcome is just better. If people can have full-throated disagreements and challenge each other (essentially, the opposite of groupthink), it forces us all to be more effective. And when consensus is finally achieved, it’s genuine and people support the necessary actions.