Avoid Groupthink for More Diversity

Teamwork & CooperationDiversity & InclusionAll employees≈ 15 min

Key skill: Collective decision-making

Summary

Recognise groupthink — the false consensus where everyone falls in line instead of saying what they think — and equip your team to make divergence possible again: appoint a devil's advocate, dare to embrace diversity.

Target audience

Anyone interested in diversity and inclusion issues.

Learning objectives

Spot and reduce the beetle bias and conformity bias
Encourage diversity and inclusion without sliding into groupthink
Prevent groupthink by allowing room for divergence
Foster the open confrontation of opposing ideas

Module outline

ArticlesThe beetle bias: a cognitive bias favouring people who resemble us · Conformity bias, or groupthink: the dangers of one-track thinking in a group · The 7 questions for avoiding groupthink
Expert videoExplains how a group's drive for inclusion can go astray when it pursues consensus at all costs
AnchoringQuiz and True/False to dig deeper into the topic and anchor what you've learned
Memo cardDownloadable coaching memo card: the key points from the expert video
CommitmentConcrete examples to help you define your own commitment
BonusA selection of videos to go further (TED, YouTube)

Models & methods

Groupthink; beetle bias; conformity bias; devil's advocate; separate subgroups.

Research-based

Phenomenon described by Whyte in 1952, later developed by Janis in 1972.