Sometimes, too much agreement between team members can be a bad thing.
Groupthink is defined as “the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility.”
Basically, the path to success isn’t necessarily the one that everyone agrees on. People with dissimilar perspectives, views and opinions demonstrate different ways of thinking, which can lead to a team finding a new or iterative solution. This is precisely why diversity is so important in teams!
It can be useful exercises – in team meetings – to assign and give permission to a specific person to be the “opposer.” This person will act as a naysayer to “poke holes” in your team’s theories and thought processes. As a result, your team will be encouraged to think outside the box and challenge the status quo; ultimately generating multiple solutions to a single problem.
Take a moment to reflect on this. Would this approach be useful for your team?
I’d welcome your feedback.
