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Avoiding Groupthink,
by Timothy Schneider, Publisher, Association News
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Los
Angeles, CA – October 2014 / Newsmaker Alert / A certain level of cohesion
must exist on the board of any association. But when the desire for action
overrides common sense, critical evaluation and accurate analysis, board
members can veer into the dangerous terrain of what is known as “groupthink,”
a term coined in 1972 by Irving Janis, a research psychologist from Yale
University. Groupthink happens on some level at all associations. It occurs
when board members check their experience at the door and support each
other in making decisions as a group that they would never make as individuals
running their own organizations.
To
maintain a healthy association, volunteer leaders need to be mindful of
when groupthink is occuring. A warning flag should be raised when decisions
are reached quickly and without much deliberation. If you notice these
phenomena occurring regularly in your board meetings, your board could
be susceptible to groupthink, and it’s crucial to reevaluate your board’s
approach immediately. Here are some tried and true ways to remedy the situation:
Encourage
dissenting opinions without retribution. Each board member should feel
that his or her opinion is valuable to the group. When groupthink occurs,
members may feel like they cannot speak up for fear of being ostracized
by the majority. Suggest your board members write down their thoughts on
a piece of paper and keep them anonymous. The chairperson can then review
the differing opinions and raise any concerns to the group. That way, the
dissenters will not be singled out.
Examine
the pros and cons of each decision that is reached. It should be worrisome
when your board cannot identify at least a few disadvantages to what might
appear to be a flawless plan. Having pros and cons enumerated and discussed
allows for greater transparency. While it’s fine to acknowledge when a
plan is good, someone also needs to play the role of devil’s advocate.
Perform
thorough research and gather information from outside sources. Your
board members have a duty of care to consider all of the information needed
to make an informed decision. Performing outside research combats groupthink
by forcing them to look outside of your association’s bubble and examine
how other groups are handling similar issues.
Develop
at least one contingency plan. This is where differing perspectives
and comprehensive research will prove to be useful. After analyzing the
risks, it’s important to decide how the board will respond if things do
not go as planned. The board may not be eager to develop a Plan B, but
this will allow them to see the holes in a plan and find ways to fill them
before rather than after the fact.
Because
the board of directors sets the strategic direction for an association,
it’s vital to keep groupthink out of the boardroom. A well-functioning
board should leverage the expertise of each of its members. After all,
their particular skills and experience are presumably why they were selected
for board service in the first place. And an association is more likely
to thrive when it successfully exploits the knowledge and talents of each
of its board members for the good of the group.
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Timothy
Schneider is the publisher of Association
News and SportsTravel
magazines, which serve group travel planners responsible for generating
106 million hotel room nights annually. Schneider
Publishing also organizes Meetings
Quest, America's longest-running series of trade shows for meeting
planners, and the TEAMS Conference
& Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers.
TEAMS '14 is being held in Las Vegas, November 10-13, 2014. For further
information on advertising or sponsorship opportunities, please call toll-free
877-577-3700 or 310-577-3700 if calling from outside the United States.
The
current issue of Association
News can be viewed in digital format online by clicking
here.
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Media
Contact:
Timothy
Schneider
310-577-3700
Schneider
Publishing Company, Inc. |