Groupthink and the Emperor’s New Clothes

Since it has been translated into more than 100 languages since Danish author Hans Christian Andersen wrote it in 1837, it should be safe to say practically everyone has read the children’s short story The Emperor’s New Clothes. The tale is about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes that they said was invisible to those who were unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When the Emperor paraded before his subjects in his new clothes, no one dared to say that they didn’t see any suit of clothes on him for fear that they will be seen as “unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent.” Finally, a child cried out, “But he isn’t wearing anything at all!” Before societal and familial conditioning has had an influencing effect, kids really do speak the truth of what they see and hear do they not?
Most people don’t realize that the tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes exemplifies one of mankind’s biggest problems known as groupthink.
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints by actively suppressing dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences.
Most of the initial research on groupthink was conducted by Irving Janis, a research psychologist from Yale University. Janis published an influential book in 1972, which was revised in 1982. Janis used the Bay of Pigs disaster (the failed invasion of Castro’s Cuba in 1961) and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 as his two prime case studies. Later studies have evaluated and reformulated his groupthink model.
It is as though we find ourselves stuck in a quandary of seeing the lunacy in a situation but feeling like the only one that does. We do not say anything out loud because we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves as being the dissenter. We start to second guess ourselves thinking that there must be something we are just not able to grasp, so we acquiesce. What we don’t realize is how many others are thinking the same things, but also trying to hide it and pretend to go along with the idea, decision, strategy, etc.

Then, synapsing happens, even when we do not consciously realize it. Synapsing happens when we subconsciously sense that we are resonating with someone else’s brain. This is usually the moment we more or less “awake.” We become hyper-focused that this other person is saying things almost exactly the same as the way we are thinking it. It is worth noting, because it happens quite often, that this does not require face-to-face interaction. We resonate with people over the phone or via conference calls far more often than we realize.
Let me explain the concept of synapsing a different way. When we are talking with someone, there are different ways we are listening. There are times we are waiting for our turn to talk and trying hard to hold onto the point we want to make when it is our turn to speak. Other times we are purposely avoiding active listening or trying to understand what the other person is saying. This can be because we feel they are way off base, or perhaps they are ‘negative synapses’ to us and we will find any necessary justification to discount even the points they make that most of the others in the situation agree are valid. There are times that our minds are quite focused on following what the person is saying, yet with no preconceived notion other than to listen, and ultimately form one. An unbiased step to form a bias, whether we realize it or not.
Then, there are those “light-switch” moments where we find ourselves so aligned with the other person that we are consciously anticipating what they will say next. We might even find ourselves elated and shocked that they, as though they are unknowingly reading our minds, come up with examples of a point they are making using the very same examples we are thinking. This is what synapsing is, and how to recognize it is happening. It is a feeling that subsequently triggers a “graying-out” of the surrounding environment as you focus with your eyes, ears, and brain.
When we choose to leverage the power of synapsing, we might start sharing our true thoughts with this person. Such as, after the meeting to talk more about the obviousness of seeing things the same way. From there, it might become what I call a Level 1 Synapse where you and this person become “office co-therapists.” You and this other person may choose to eventually use synapsing to do something that makes a real difference, which then makes it a Level 2 Synapse.

In a Level 2 Synapse, you are able to “use the force” if you will because you and this other person are so much aligned that you become the same person no matter where you physically are as both of you are advancing a particular cause, both internal and external to the organization. Eventually, you start to build believers and followers (also referred to as synapses and supporters) which advance it to a Level 3 Synapse. Then, real change can, and often does, occur.
The changes that can be accomplished with Level 3 Synapses are usually big in scale because they overcome groupthink and the negative forces of the Ultimate Human Dilemma. Actually, Level 3 Synapses are the only effective means to break down the caustic barriers of groupthink and the Ultimate Human Dilemma.

In my experience, the set-up of groupthink in the strategy room is caused by the illusion of invulnerability by one or a few senior ranking managers that are leading the discussion, who almost invariably, have dominant interpolative brain hardware. This means they are anti-visionary by definition. This should not be taken as an insult, but rather a fact of brain function hardware differences that is now backed by neuroscience. This process leads to what I call “collective ignorance” where the ideas of what is happening in a market are massaged together and cast as bronzed gospel. Meaning, they are nothing more than well-fashioned ignorance that should then be tested as the hypotheses they are versus treated as certain truth.
The groupthink-ers end up painting the strategy for the business by interpolation from their own experiences, which is almost never aligned with the actual needs in a given market (also known as the 3rd Bacon Rule). There is also a high likelihood of at least one of these individuals having an inflated ego (low UP-2 and UP-5) if not an outright observable dissonance between their real self and their idealized self (another way of saying narcissism or being Machiavellian-like). This scenario is unfortunately found often inside teams because there is a lack of a societal (or organizational) filter that prevents those that are far from “team-able” from being on the teams we depend on. Actually, it is the opposite. There is an advantage for such a person to gain leadership control and influence over all of the teams in the business. (see article Dog’s Don’t Second Guess Themselves, So Why Do We?)

This leads to the few in the room that are extrapolative brains to see things completely differently (statistically, 25% of the population are extrapolative, 75% interpolative). They are looking at things from a market that are in disruption where the implications to their company are impossible to know from inside a conference room or an all-day strategy meeting. Whereas, groupthink is supporting another recast of the same past failed attempts to force (expect) the market to enjoy what it no longer values.
These individuals are often afraid to say what they think for fear of damaging their positions and upward momentum. Their families and lifestyles depend on this job and the benefits it provides. “Rocking the boat” is akin to career suicide. For others, they cannot help but see what they see. It leads to ‘Synaptic Divide’ nonetheless.
Synaptic Divide is when there are people that are synapsed and see things differently than groupthink’s prevailing and indoctrinated strategy. However, they choose to only discuss it behind closed doors. As the company continues to struggle and lose market share, where customers are becoming increasingly agitated and opportunities die on the vine of bureaucracy, the Synaptic Divide only increases. As each new CEO comes in and after each new reorganization, the people that are the source of the problem remain, often, gaining in power (and title/compensation). This divide eventually reaches inevitable hysteresis. Hysteresis means the proverbial rubber band no longer has an elastic recovery. At the point of hysteresis, those who have remained with the company are either incompetent or are disgruntled competent who have one foot out the door, and emotionally, everything is outside of the company’s doors.
My advice to those of you in these situations is to find your synapses and use them to make a difference. For those of you responsible for being the problem, allowing it to happen, or placing the problem in these roles within the company, fix it and fix it now before it is too late. Everyone knows that mold is impossible to completely remove. So is the stench of a soured culture. Sometimes you have no choice but to burn it to the ground and start over in order to fully rid your organization of its pervasive mold and the systemic emotional damage it causes.
Don’t be afraid to be the kids that shout out that the Emperor is naked. But if you are afraid to speak up, then build your synapses first and do it as a united front. Be the silent leader that rallies those that see what you see. So much more positive will come from the freedom that synapsing gives than you will ever get by succumbing to the depression and anxiety of staying quiet when groupthink prevails inside your company’s walls.
If you want to learn more about teamology and what it takes to be team-able, visit our website at www.up-factorllc.com or email us at info@up-factorllc.com. The lens to see groupthink happening and the tools to prevent it are a mere piece of what you will get from our seminar and workshop.
There is an Ultimate Human Solution to the Ultimate Human Dilemma.


