What Are the Symptoms of Groupthink?

Groupthink can be debilitating and destructive for an organization, and recognizing the symptoms of groupthink can help you prevent it in your company before it becomes a serious problem. Groupthink can be defined as a condition where a desire to reach a mutual consensus prevents group members from adequately assessing alternatives and considering new ones. Staying aware of a number of key indicators that this mentality is present can help managers combat its effects.

One of the most prominent symptoms of groupthink is the irrational belief that the group cannot fail. A degree of confidence among a group making tough decisions is important, but when that confidence becomes over-inflated and unfounded, the group may rush into choices that they aren't prepared for. This problem can often be witnessed in the interactions of group members. Be aware of how individuals are building each other up. Business meetings shouldn't look like a pre-game locker room where hype and excitement override rationality and level-headedness. If you start to witness group members who are overly confident or refusing to acknowledge the possibility of failure, address the problem both at the individual and group-wide level.

A second symptom of groupthink is self-censorship. This can be a difficult indicator to identify, because you have to pay attention to what people aren't saying, not what they are saying. Watch how meetings progress. If a certain individual begins a discussion with a dissenting opinion and gradually becomes less and less vocal about it without explaining their change in thinking, you may be witnessing self-censorship. Censorship occurs because individuals desire to be accepted by the group. Frequently, this results in the most prominent or popular member of the team always dominating the conversation, as others don't want to be seen as opposing them.

Rejection of outside sources is another dangerous symptom of groupthink. Often, increasing cohesiveness within the group comes at the expense of withdrawal from those outside of it. This condition only multiplies the narrow-mindedness and lack of perspective that is characteristic of those suffering from groupthink. As a manager, you may be one of these outside sources that gets dismissed when presenting information contradictory to what the group believes. It is important, in these situations, to assert your superiority and make the group recognize that their perspective is not the only opinion that must be considered.

A final symptom of groupthink is a stifling of the creative process. If individuals within your organization are usually accepting of creative activities like brainstorming and mind mapping and you begin noticing a shift away from these processes to more authoritarian, restricted efforts, group dynamics may be instigating groupthink. This is most likely cause by the fact that persons feel the ideas they generate during brainstorming sessions won't be accepted by the group and will hinder their favor among other group members. Engaging in processes like "green lighting," where negative views of new ideas are not permitted, can combat these tendencies.

Groupthink has the power to not only limit the creative potential of an organization, but direct it into dangerous and costly courses of action. Recognizing these symptoms of groupthink is an important first step in managing and counteracting its hazardous effects.