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Why Groupthink Is a Problem
You don’t fix groupthink with “encouraging diverse opinions.”
Groupthink is not good.
When people think alike, you end up making unchallenged and poor-quality decisions.
Go with the flow.
Ehm. No.
You don’t want to go with the flow. You want to swim against the tide. Otherwise, you’re a sheep.
My client, Michaela, was part of a leadership team, and she had this problem with the middle managers:
Her company is undergoing structural reorganization and faces an unexpected problem. No open resistance, but complete disengagement from it’s 12 senior managers.
When leadership presents new plans for team organization, the managers nod in agreement, offer no feedback, and no questions.
In private discussions, however, frustration is evident. They feel their voice doesn’t matter. So they choose silence over engagement. This passive agreement creates a false sense of unity. It hides real discontent that could lead to long-term dissatisfaction.
But what should the leadership team do?
