The Subtle Danger of Groupthink – Part 2

‘GROUPTHINK’ is a dangerous psychological phenomenon involving that board members prioritise harmony, consensus, and conformity over critical analysis, leading to poor strategic decisions and failed fiduciary oversight.

In other words, we suppress our doubts with the well-intended aim of maintaining unity and cohesion.

To be fair, most of us don’t do so deliberately or consciously.

The primary driver of groupthink at board level is prioritising cordial relationships over critical debate to maintain a sense of unity.

Professional relationships are different to personal relationships in sense that they should be able to withstand a high degree of disagreement without regarding it as conflict, all to achieve mutual goals.

Another contributor to groupthink is time constraints.

Robust discussion requires adequate time. Time pressure creates a stressful environment that prioritises rapid consensus over critical analysis.

This is especially true if this time pressure is artificially created.

When you’re in a rush, even the basic requests for clarity start to seem like you’re being a hindrance. Arguably the most damaging is self-censorship.

Self-censorship is the act of intentionally withholding or altering your own thoughts or ideas due to fear of social, professional, or political consequences.

I cannot stress enough how detrimental this is.
Self-censorship stifles dialogue and hinders intellectual and collective growth because it reinforces self-narratives that may be incorrect or distorted

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