All too often in my consultancy business I observe teams in meetings in which the silence is deafening. When someone does speak up, it seems like the leader is listening to their own voice. Their words get played back.

This is the leadership bubble in which the leader’s voice, ideas, thoughts, reverberate around the room – physical or virtual. In this bubble the leader and team are subject to groupthink. This is where the team works towards harmony or conformity and an agreement in line with the leader’s intended outcomes. With a desire for minimal conflict, there is no questioning, challenging, or provision of alternative solutions.

There is great danger when groupthink occurs. The chances are that someone who knows better than you, is not prepared to speak up due to fear of repercussion or reprisal. Silence is not golden. It is deadly.

Two well-known examples of groupthink are the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster and the Bay of Pigs invasion 

Despite engineers knowing that there was a piece of equipment that could only work above 53 degrees and the temperature on the launch pad on January 28, 1986, was 36 degrees, due to national, group, and political pressure, they kept quiet. 73 second into flight, the Challenger broke apart leading to the death of all seven crew members aboard.

Irving Janis termed the phenomenon “groupthink” after research inspired by the Bay of Pigs fiasco. A Yale psychologist, he set out to understand how a team of self-evidently brilliant people could pool their intellectual powers and still arrive at such an unquestioningly catastrophic decision. These brilliant people included Robert McNamara, Robert Kennedy, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Allen Dulles, and about 40 others.

In a nutshell the plan to take down Fidel Castro was that 14000 Cuban exiles, stationed in Guatemala who had been trained by the CIA would storm the beachhead at the Bay of Pigs, armed with American artillery, and march on Havana. The Cuban people would accordingly revolt against Castro and Kennedy would bask in the glory having turned back communism.

The air and naval resources that were meant to be made available were pulled at the last minute. The 1400 Cuban exiles encountered a superior force of 20,000 Cuban soldiers and without support from air or sea, they were either taken prisoner or killed. The whole thing was over in 3 days. Castro became a hero and Kennedy humiliated.

Kennedy is quoted as saying, “There were 50 or so of us, presumably the most experienced and smartest people we could get, but five minutes after it began to fall in, we all looked at each other and asked, ‘How could we have been so stupid?’”

Janis found that although Kennedy’s advisors had good reason to believe the mission would fail, they kept quiet. They did not want to be labelled ‘soft’ or ‘cowardly’ in the eyes of their colleagues. One of the advisors, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. said Kennedy’s “senior officials … were unanimous for going ahead… Had one senior advisor opposed the adventure, I believe that Kennedy would have cancelled it. No one spoke against it.”

There are many other examples of groupthink causing irreparable damage. Check out Wikipedia.

So, as a leader, how do you ensure that you break the leadership bubble and avoid the devastation that can result from groupthink?

REMOVE BIAS

One of the foundational causes of groupthink is surrounding yourself with people who look like you, behave like you, and think like you. This is called affinity bias.

Another cause of groupthink is proximity bias. Proximity bias is an unconscious and unwise tendency to give preferential treatment to those in your immediate vicinity.

Affinity bias

Affinity bias leads us to like, associate with, and recruit people to whom we feel most similar. When we meet someone, we often unknowingly assess how different or similar they are to us. Similarity provides comfort whilst differences can make us feel threatened. We deal with this by living in bubbles We surround ourselves with people who are like us. This bubble will stop you being a good leader. It results in groupthink as you surround yourself with people who think like you do.

You won’t hear diverse viewpoints or opinions that are different from your own. The like-minded people we associate with confirm what we are thinking. It is dangerous to isolate yourself from ideas that are different to yours and voices that will challenge your thinking. Your affinity bubble you will stifle creativity and innovation
You cannot allow affinity bias to influence who you hire, recognise, promote, and reward.

Acknowledge that affinity bias exists and raise awareness. Unpack your own biases and take ownership of what you uncover. Put assumptions away and seek out a wide range of perspectives.

Proximity bias

Proximity bias is largely talked about regarding the pandemic and the resultant distribution of employees across locations. However, it has existed long before the pandemic. I am sure you can reflect on times where the people you sit near are the people you know the best and feel the most connection to.

This can result in what is termed the halo effect, where you build an inflated view of those nearby and disregard capabilities, skills and expertise of other people located further away.

In a hybrid working environment, proximity bias can favour employees in the office over employees working remotely. As a leader you must ensure everyone is on a level playing field and included. You cannot hand an assignment to someone collocated with you when there is someone far more qualified to take on the assignment who is working remotely.

Proximity bias results in groupthink because you are excluding other ideas, perspectives, challenges, and opportunities, based on who is in your immediate circle.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

There must be an environment of psychological safety. Psychological safety is a term coined by Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson. She defines it as:

“The belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.”

When team members sense psychological safety they will speak out, share ideas, take risks, and are innovative and creative. They do this knowing that they will not be ridiculed in the process. They know that their contribution to a discussion is a valued one.

They feel able to speak up, question and challenge, present new thoughts, and ideas, without adverse repercussion.

It is often the case that members of your team are closer to the customer or operational aspects of the business and can sense when a decision does not make sense. You should want them to provide feedback, raise concerns, or challenge the decision. If they fear they will be reprimanded for doing so, they will not speak up.

The resulting silence is groupthink. No one speaks up and silence is taken as agreement.

The Chernobyl Disaster was partly due to the lack of psychological safety. Whilst the power plant itself was inherently unsafe, the culture of the Russian workforce was not one that encouraged employees to speak up. They operated in a fear-driven culture and therefore did not raise concerns or speak about mistakes.

During a simulated power shutdown, the reactor began to power down but was in an unstable condition. Things rapidly went wrong. A steam explosion led to a nuclear explosion that resulted in 31deaths. In 2005, the UN estimated a further 4,000 might die because of radiation exposure. The lack of psychological safety meant that operators did not feel safe to raise their concerns and stop the test.

Another textbook example if the Boeing 737 Max disaster. These are some of the emails being exchanged by employees before the disasters.

“Would you put your family on a [737] MAX simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn’t.”

“I’ll be shocked if the FAA passes this turd.”

“This is a joke. This airplane is ridiculous.” 

Hundreds of lives were lost in the two Boeing 737 Max crashes in late 2018 and 2019. These employees only complained to each other and not their leadership due to fear. The disaster was due to a lack of psychological safety.

As a leader you must be deliberate in creating and promoting a psychologically safe culture that encourages the candour and disagreement that can avoid disastrous situation occurring.

EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

If you continue to surround yourself with people that look like you, have a similar background to you, and think like you, you will continue to exist in your groupthink bubble.

You can burst that bubble with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I).

Create a team that is diverse. When you have a team of people from diverse backgrounds it can lead to improved and more accurate group thinking. The team bring different perspectives, experiences, and insights to overcome challenges and embrace opportunities. They will dissect and analyse decisions ensuring desired outcomes will be achieved.

Everyone on your team needs to be treated equally and given a voice at the table. Everyone needs to be included in the decision-making process and given an opportunity to contribute.

Research has shown that diversity and inclusion in the workplace benefit individuals, organisations, teams, and society. Research from global non-profit organisation Catalyst found four areas in which diversity and inclusion have a significant impact: talent, innovation and group performance, reputation and responsibility, and financial performance.

In addition to leading a diverse team, you can intentionally interject different perspectives into your team by inviting people from other parts of the organisation to team meetings to share alternative perspectives and views of a particular situation. Encourage cross-functional collaboration to solicit different ideas, viewpoints, and opinions.

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

A strong leader must form solid opinions but until you see how dangerous it is to isolate yourself from different ideas, opinions, and perspectives, you cannot grow professionally or personally. The stronger your groupthink bubble is, the more negative an influence it will have on your success as a leader.

Strong leaders are always looking for new data and ideas. They intentionally solicit feedback and are prepared to be challenged. They are open to new and different ideas from their own. They deliberately and regularly request to be challenged. 

You can tell your team, “I don’t have all the answers and I might not see all the options available to us. We all have blind spots including me. I want you to question, challenge, and disagree with me if you think we are on the wrong track.” Do this repeatedly so it becomes part of your team culture.

You must avoid the urge to push back or resist when challenged. You must be open-minded to different ways of thinking and thought processes. Another bias can come into play here, and that is confirmation bias. This is where you look for information in another person’s argument that supports your ideas, but you do not see the flaws or holes in your argument.

As a leader you must be open-minded, curious and ask lots of questions. But of course, you can only be open-minded if you are prepared to listen. Really listen. You must listen without bias, prejudice, or preconceived ideas. You cannot filter the information you are receiving based on your perspectives 

You need to practice active listening. This means that you are fully present. You remove all distractions and focus on what is being said. You listen with intent. You seek clarity to ensure you have heard what was intended. You resist the urge to interrupt and let the speaker finish. You show genuine interest in what is being said. You acknowledge and thank each person for their contribution.

SUMMARY

Leading in a groupthink bubble can have devastating consequences, not only for you, but for individuals, the team, and the organisation. 

You will stifle creativity and innovation. You will not see potential problems. You will isolate yourself from different perspectives, ideas, opinions, and experiences.

Break out of that bubble. Remove the biases; build and maintain an environment of psychological safety; lead a diverse team with equity and inclusion; and be open-minded.