There are many nuances to leading a team. One aspect that is both important and difficult for well-established teams is prevention of the Abilene Paradox.
The Abilene Paradox is a psychological phenomenon when a group of people comes to what appears a unanimous decision, even though every individual in the group disagrees with what is being decided. Simply put, it is the go along to get along aspect of teams.
The paradox was first studied by Jerry B. Harvey, in 1974. He examined that people tend to go along with what a group decides and not express what they really think. He identified that people often find it difficult to disagree with the general opinion of a group because they feel their perspective is unimportant or irrelevant, even though what everyone agrees on may be bad for the group.
The paradox illustrates how groups can make poor decisions when every individual disagrees, but nobody speaks up to voice an alternate opinion. It also shows how conflict can enhance creativity by providing new ideas that otherwise would have gone unnoticed in an atmosphere of uniformity.
An Example of the Abilene Paradox
Consider a scenario where you and your team are planning next years’ big sales meeting.
You start off by deciding as a group where the annual meeting will be hosted. When deciding the perfect location, someone in the group throws out “Cancun.”
Well, of course, what could be better than the perfect vacation destination?
Everyone expresses their excitement and agreement with the idea. Meanwhile, doubt starts to creep into the back of everyone’s mind.
Will they get any work done? Is that going to be too challenging to coordinate? What about the additional costs? Time away from your family?
All of a sudden, everyone in the room is having these doubts but does not say anything.
The team leader asks the room for any objections and is met with none, and the team moves forward with the planning process, despite their unknowing reluctance.
Six months later, some of those concerns the individuals initially had have now become real issues and the event is in jeopardy of not being successful.
Preventing the Abilene Paradox
While the Abilene Paradox is something that affects groups, the root cause of this phenomenon is within the individual. People are afraid to “rock the boat” and go against what others, especially their managers, think.
Managers and leaders of organizations must be prepared to challenge the group when everyone agrees. It seems counterproductive, but leaders must make sure their team is making the right decision. There are many practices a manager can use to avoid the Abilene Paradox in the first place.
Four ways to avoid the Abilene Paradox are:
Create a culture that values authenticity and is not afraid of conflict. This will ensure that individuals are willing to speak up when they have concerns.
Embrace a diverse community. Diversity amongst employees can allow different viewpoints and perspectives to help make better-informed decisions.
As a leader, get feedback from others before you give your opinion. Often times leaders don’t understand how much sway their words have over their team.
Trust. Be sure you have taken steps to build trust within your team members. If there is trust, they are more likely to raise issues without feeling they will be judged for their opinion.
Using these four suggestions is a great start to avoiding this phenomenon. Just being aware that this can happen will prepare you as you work with a group to make decisions.
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