Managing Group Dynamics

Either of these extreme behaviors can lengthen the decision making process...

One of the advantages to treating decision making as a group process is that individual biases can be counteracted by the presence of multiple voices and perspectives.

But while groups offer different viewpoints, they need guidance to be productive. Your challenge is to manage the group decision-making process. Otherwise, you may find yourself confronted with one of the following extremes.

Excessive group harmony. Excessive group harmony occurs when individuals want to be accepted in a group or they lack inters tint he process. When people strive too hard to be accepted in the group, they may fall victim to groupthink. With groupthink, participants’ desire for agreement overrides their motivation to evaluate alternative options. In this situation, people tend to withhold their opinions, especially if their views differ from those of the group leader. They make little effort to obtain new information to support their initial preferences.. They may spend a lot of time inquiring about what others in the group want so that the solution they reach will make everyone happy.

Excessive group harmony can also stem from lack of interest: participants have not interest in the process or do not feel empowered. If the group feels that the leader has already made the decision, they may go along with it, refuse to participate entirely, or accept the first reasonable alternative that is proposed in an effort to end the process.

Excessive individualism. Excessive individualism is at the opposite end of the spectrum from excessive group harmony. In this situation, individuals engage in aggressive advocacy, placing stakes in the ground and relentlessly arguing their positions. They disregard the opinions of other group members and fail to consider the common good.

Either of these extreme behaviors can lengthen the decision making process and interfere with the team’s efforts to make good choices.

ACTION POINT: Your job as a manager is to keep your decision-making group on track so it does not head toward either of these extremes.