Resist Groupthink

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For groups to be truly effective, members need to form a collective mind, that is, engage in communication that is critical, careful, consistent, and conscientious.6 At the same time, they must avoid groupthink, the tendency to accept information and ideas without subjecting them to critical analysis.7 Groups prone to groupthink typically exhibit these behaviors:

Optimize Decision Making in Groups

Research suggests that groups can reach the best decisions by adopting two methods of argument: devil’s advocacy (arguing for the sake of raising issues or concerns about the idea under discussion) and dialectical inquiry (devil’s advocacy that goes a step further by proposing a countersolution to the idea).8 Both approaches help expose underlying assumptions that may be preventing participants from making the best decision. As you lead a group, consider how you can encourage both methods of argument.