Is your school being run through groupthink? If it is, you might not even know – you could already be too deep in the “silent circle of assent” to recognise it.
Senior leadership teams need be cohesive to operate effectively, but take that cohesion too far and you can easily create an echo chamber in which alternative viewpoints are stifled, warns Nick Gallop in the 22 June issue of Tes.
“Groupthink occurs at all social levels and across all sectors and industries,” writes Gallop, who is head of Stamford School in Lincolnshire. “It happens when the entirely normal human pursuit of social harmony has the effect of stifling alternative viewpoints and suppressing dissent.
“It takes place when leadership teams are formed of people with overly similar backgrounds, and when members isolate themselves from outside influences and uncomfortable or challenging opinions. Decisions are reached with an illusion of unanimity, arrived at in echo chambers characterised by self-censorship and an absence of contradictory views.”
Schools, Gallop adds, can be more prone to groupthink than other organisations because of their “hierarchical rigidity” and the presence of small departmental units, which can limit the sharing of ideas.
So, how can schools avoid being led by the “silent circle of assent”? Gallop offers the following tips:
Encourage scepticism
Cohesiveness is important, as is teamwork, but so, too, is encouraging healthy scepticism and creative conflict.
Consider the options
Ruthlessly insist upon alternatives. Many a disappointing reform or failure is the result of an incomplete survey of the options at the outset.
Embrace devil’s advocates
Mavericks and alternative thinkers are our friends in the process of change, so consider the make-up of the leadership team. Is there room for a disbeliever?
Follow the ‘two pizza rule’
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, follows the “two pizza rule” to avoid a table surrounded by silently nodding heads: never hold meetings where more than two pizzas would be needed to feed everyone there.
Learn from others’ mistakes
Decisiveness can be an over-prized quality if a fast decision is a flawed one. Consider whether the institution will benefit more from waiting, watching and drawing on the experiences of others.
Use evidence wisely
Leadership expert Jack Zenger, writing in Harvard Business Review in 2015, asserts that “good leaders make decisions carefully after collecting data from multiple sources and seeking opinions from those whom they know will have differing views”.
Avoid isolation
Meet regularly and routinely with staff outside the leadership team. Do not wait for an emergency.
To read this article in full, pick up a copy of the 22 June issue of Tes from your local newsagent or subscribe to read online
