Limiting groupthink

By Mary Beth Matteo, Founding Director of the S. Dale High Center for Family Business

Whether you’re running a business meeting or a family meeting, if you want genuine by-in, it’s important to understand the concept of “false consensus.”

False consensus happens in one of two ways. Top down: a leader may presume that silence means consensus, for example, the way political leaders sometimes assume they have the support of the masses. Bottom up: members of a group may feel such intense pressure to agree that they simply cave on an important issue (and usually exhibit negative behavior later.) An example would be the study of “groupthink” in sequestered jurors.

How to avoid it? Awareness is the first step. In conducting family meetings on important issues several steps are key:

• Appoint a leader for the meeting (a person who has the respect of the group).

• Appoint a note-taker to write minutes.

• Set a clear time limit.

• Set an agenda in advance and ask participants to contribute to it.

• Provide a place for all members to participate in the discussion (if needs be, call on them).

• When discussing a “loaded” issue, ask members to use “I” to express opinions and understanding; avoid the use of “you”, as in “you always do this.”

• Summarize the results of the meeting and set an agenda for the next, with input from the group.

Sum & substance: While you want healthy working relationships and productivity in a team environment, you don't want to facilitate groupthink, which can lead to shallow decision-making, excessive optimism, and stereotyping. Rather, invest in a strong group relationship that accommodates diverse viewpoints.

When Words are the Problem: Communication and Relationship

by Mary Beth Matteo, Founding Director of the S. Dale High Center

Many of us judge someone’s competence by the way he or she handles a public setting: chairing a meeting, making a presentation, supervising employees, or diffusing a tense situation. Members of the successor generation are judged by these criteria—and many more. Poor communication skills can strain professional relationships.

The upcoming generation is under intense scrutiny which makes effective communication difficult, if not paralyzing in some cases. In business settings, colleagues often defer to the senior person, making it even more difficult for a successor to speak up and be heard. In many family businesses, comparisons between founder and successor are unrelenting, also not a recipe for open and free communication. There are a few things that can be done to help successors find the “right words.”

1.  Encourage the successor generation to work outside the family business, if possible: there’s nothing like being able to learn in privacy and observe different communication styles.

2.  Find a non-family coach: someone who can role play situations with the successor and help develop the appropriate “words” for specific situations.

3.  Successors should seek leadership experiences in voluntary capacities: serving on boards, heading up special projects. This is great experience for learning the right words, and communicating with authority and effectiveness. It’s also a great way to give something back.

Sum and substance: Contrary to prevailing wisdom, a failure to excel as a communicator is not always a question of intelligence or leadership: it often has to do with “having” the right words.