Avionics News July 2014 - 57

to agree to preserve the relationship,
according to psychologist Jeremy
Dean.
Few people will fight the battle,
particularly when we add the rush
to make a quick decision - because
we're all in a hurry, we're task-loaded
to get a project started, or we're
victim to more important distractions, according to Jeffrey L. Buller
of Florida Atlantic University. Even
worse, some employees may believe
no one will listen, or they will be
ridiculed.
So where does this leave you?
Nowhere good. More specifically,
you're in the unenviable position of
owning teams where agreement is
more important than critical thinking. Research shows that when
people adopt the majority position,
they ignore potential alternatives that
might suggest better options, as well
as any evidence that suggests the consensus conclusion is bad. This effect
starts in even small groups, but it
grows more powerful in big ones, as
some members slack off and defer to
more active, motivated, experienced
ones.
Groupthink is the systematic failure
of each individual's critical-thinking
process, where individuals fail to
express doubts, avoid constructive
disagreements and sidestep any hint
of conflict. But someone has to be the
wet blanket. Otherwise, mistakes are
made.
Consider the classic example of
the Space Shuttle Challenger launch;
decisions made under the influence
of groupthink typically have a low
probability of success. Janis went so
far as to list the symptoms of a group
headed down the wrong path: It overestimates invulnerability, it's overly

optimistic, and it ignores obvious
danger signals when taking risks; it
collectively rationalizes decisions; it
stereotypes people who would make
different decisions and discourages
dissent so members censor themselves
(reinforcing the idea that everyone is
in agreement); and it includes members who withhold information to
save face.
CONS OF CONSENSUS
The result is actually a group that
ends up making riskier decisions than
if they'd reached the same conclusion
individually. Obviously, this is a little

dysfunctional, considering that the
conventional thinking suggests groups
represent a whole that's greater than
the sum of its parts.
But in this case, the group's parts
are too similar. Companies frequently
work hard to hire people who are a
good fit, they reward good teamwork,
they admonish bickering and dissent,
and they demand contrarians get with
the program, according to Dean.
It's no wonder individuals don't
want to rock the boat, given the damage to their social standing that this
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