Recently, I read “The Wisdom of Crowds*” by James Surowiecki, and it got me thinking about the countless number of times I’ve held student group decision-making discussions that I thought were great, but in reality, and based on the research in this book, were pointless groupthink.
Deliberation in a groupthink setting has the disturbing effect not of opening people’s minds but of closing them. When the pressure to conform is at work, a person changes his opinion not because he actually believes something different but because it’s easier to change his opinion than to challenge the group.”
Moving forward, I’m going to set up all my student group decision-making discussions less like a traditional meeting structure and more like the game show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire. In the show, when the contestants ask the crowd for support on guessing the correct answer, the crowd guesses the correct answer 91% of the time. Wow! If all decision-making came with a 91% accuracy, we’d be golden.
So what makes it work? Here are the 5 keys to effective group decision-making:
1) Diversity
Colleges campuses are naturally diverse because people come from all over to live, study, and play together for a set period of time. Immersed diversity is one of the great by-products of the college’s experience. A recent study, however, showed that students tended to gravitate away from diversity and more toward homogenous friend groups on campus. So, in determining who you want to have a decision-making discussion with, reach beyond your friend group or student group. You need diversity or else you won’t have any…well, diversity in thinking.
The smartest groups are made up of people with diverse perspectives. Cognitive diversity is essential to good decision making.”
2) Independence
Groupthink is way more powerful than we want to believe. You’re setting yourself up for failure if think you’ll get independent decision-making when you put a group together and have a discussion. There are so many factors at play. Research in James’ book shows that the first person to talk can set the direction for the whole group. The person who talks the most, or the loudest, can also have a big influence. Even though your best idea may be inside Silent Sally in the corner, you better believe it’ll be Boisterous Bob who will be the first, loudest, and longest one to talk, thus Silent Sally will conform to groupthink.
People are far more likely to come up with a good decision if the people in the group are independent of each other. The more influence a group’s members exert on each other, and the more personal contact they have with each other, the less likely it is that the group’s decisions will be wise ones.”
3) Simultaneous Decision Making
Related to independence, the old idea of going around the room to get everyone’s opinion is a death trap for groupthink. Creating a sequential discussion sounds nice and inclusive, so people like Silent Sally get a turn, but unless Silent Sally is the first person to talk, someone else will set the tone of the discussion and decision.
The problem starts when people’s decisions are not made all at once but rather in sequence. If you want to improve an organization’s or an economy’s decision making, one of the best things you can do is make sure, as much as possible, that decisions are made simultaneously (or close to it) rather than one after the other.”
4) Limited Options
Ever had someone ask you to tell a joke and instantly your mind freezes? Sometimes, opening up a discussion too broad is dangerous. As backwards as it sounds, decision-making needs boundaries in which to play in. The more defined the boundaries, the easier it is for our brains to come up with solutions. Do the hard work of defining the boundaries for the group ahead of time by yourself.
Groups are better at deciding between possible solutions to a problem than they are at coming up with them. Invention may still be an individual.”
5) Delayed Discussions
It should be clear by now that discussions can be dangerous. They can lead to groupthink. They can lead to Silent Sally, not sharing what she really thinks or feels. They can lead to poor decision-making. Discussions are good, however, and do serve a purpose, but have them after you have each person independently record their own thoughts on the matter.
As a general rule, discussions tend to move both the group as a whole and the individuals within it toward more extreme positions than the ones they entered the discussion with. Evidence suggests that the order in which people speak has a profound effect on the course of a discussion. Earlier comments are more influential, and they tend to provide a framework within which the discussion occurs.”
So now you have the 5 keys to effective group decision-making. Test it out with your group and let me know how it works. Here’s to helping every student leader make decisions with a 91% accuracy.
