Five tips to navigate groupthink in projects

Projects are collaborative endeavours. It’s in their nature. A successful project requires the pooling of disparate skills, knowledge, experience and working methods in service of a clearly defined goal.

But while this hive mind can drive a project to success, it can also encourage an insidious threat: groupthink.

Some people may feel pressure to go with the flow. When budgets and deadlines are tight, it can feel better not to rock the boat. Others may be intimidated by the expertise and authority of their more seasoned colleagues.

That may seem benign, but letting groupthink go unchecked can have serious consequences. Last year, Meg Hillier, then Chair of the cross-party Public Accounts Committee in the House of Commons, blamed groupthink for billions of pounds’ worth of public projects “gone awry, deadlines shifted and money wasted”. These included school buildings, nuclear subs, vital animal health centres and a backlog in hospital maintenance that’s priced at over £10bn alone.

“All too often, we have also seen money misdirected or squandered, not because of corruption, but because of groupthink,” Hillier wrote in the Financial Times. “This leads to optimism bias, intransigence, inertia and cultures that discourage whistleblowing.”

Here are five key tips for promoting healthy debate and critical thinking in your projects instead…

1. Seek varied perspectives

Groupthink will thrive when everyone on the team shares similar backgrounds and viewpoints. Try to build a team that’s more diverse – comprising a range of experiences, expertise and ways of operating.

And at critical points in the project, reach out to people beyond the team for an objective stance – even the act of explaining your process will make your team reconsider things and spark new thoughts.

Tim Lyons, a project communications and alignment specialist, recalls how, when working with Exxon Mobil in Brussels, the company used to fly a team over from the US to examine projects there.

“They called it the cold eyes review,” he says. “Using their experience and their domain knowledge, they would come in and say: ‘Hang on a minute; we’re not sure about this.’”

2. Make people feel secure in speaking up

A psychologically safe culture encourages alternative viewpoints and makes it clear that you welcome disagreement. Show that you want to understand people’s perspectives by celebrating every dissenting view that leads your project down a better path.

“Workplaces often emphasise and encourage collaboration and getting along with one another,” said Marion Thomas, Director of ExtraordinaryPM. “Successful organisations get non-hostile conflict and disagreement out into the open in order to explore potential problems and concerns, and fuel even greater innovation.”

3. Encourage people to explore ideas

Empower your team to think for themselves. For example, if they gather information independently before group meetings, it may bring fresh perspectives and help challenge assumptions.

Allow for breaks during group discussions, so people can reflect by themselves. This will alleviate the pressure to conform to any immediate group dynamic.

And resist the urge to dominate discussions yourself. A 2017 Department of Transport report into behaviours highlighted how groupthink often occurs when there is a “strong and directive leader and a sense of urgency”. So, dial down the directives. Facilitate others as they navigate the process instead.

4. Ask: is it groupthink or consensus?

Consensus reached through critical thinking can be vital for projects. You have to navigate the tension between fostering team unity and ensuring a sound base for decisions.

That means differentiating between genuine consensus, based on merit, and apparent agreement driven by the pressure to conform.

If complete consensus isn’t possible, be prepared to make that call. Just be transparent about the decision-making process and rationale, so everyone understands the final outcome, even if they don’t like it.

5. Structure the decision-making process

Lyons is a proponent of imagineering, a method popularised by Walt Disney. This involves encouraging the team to examine plans from three distinct positions: as dreamers, who explore ideas without boundaries; as realists, who look at what’s possible in practical terms; and as critics, who flag the inherent issues and risks.

Looking at the same problem from these clear perspectives can help avert groupthink.

“By the end, you’ve taken your idea apart and given it a good old thrashing,” says Lyons. “As the dreamer, you have to check what assumptions you’re making. The realist has to check any confirmation bias. And here it’s not considered disloyal to be a critic. It’s clear that’s what people are being paid to do.”