Groupthink describes a mode of thinking in which members of a cohesive group put agreement ahead of a realistic look at the alternatives.
Where it comes from
William H. Whyte used the word in Fortune in 1952. Yale psychologist Irving Janis turned it into a theory in 1972, analyzing U.S. foreign-policy fiascoes such as the Bay of Pigs invasion and contrasting them with better-handled decisions like the Cuban missile crisis.¹ Janis listed warning signs, among them an illusion of invulnerability, self-censorship, pressure on dissenters and "mindguards" who shield the leader from unwelcome information.
Where it goes wrong
The label gets attached to almost any decision a group agrees on. Janis described specific conditions: high cohesion, insulation from outside views and a leader who signals a preferred answer early. Tests of the full model have produced mixed results,² while his practical remedies remain widely used.
Talent Takeaway
In your next decision meeting, speak last. Ask one person to make the case against the favored option, and rotate that role so it carries no stigma. Janis recommended both.
¹ Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of groupthink: A psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes. Houghton Mifflin.
² Esser, J. K. (1998). Alive and well after 25 years: A review of groupthink research. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 73(2–3), 116–141.
Further reading: Sunstein, C. R., & Hastie, R. (2015). Wiser: Getting beyond groupthink to make groups smarter. Harvard Business Review Press.