🍀KNOW THE 'ABILENE PARADOX'- Issue 136
Hi, I am JOE and I write on "Mindful Productivity & Cerebral Happiness". My endeavour is to share life lessons, some thoughts, quotes & links to articles/podcasts/books, I discover during the week .
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Well, Did you ever find yourself in a brainstorming session at work, where everyone ends up agreeing to a less-than-ideal course of action?
The Abilene paradox describes many such situations where people agree to an idea, despite most of the group not believing it's the best decision.
The phenomenon has a simple explanation: it’s mainly caused by a fear of challenging the status quo. Learning to identify and manage the Abilene paradox is essential to avoid costly group decisions.
The Backdrop
The Abilene paradox was first described by Jerry B. Harvey in his 1974 article The Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement. Harvey, a professor of management science at George Washington University, D.C., was spending time with his in-laws during a heatwave in Texas. When his father-in-law suggested going for dinner in Abilene, 53 miles away, Harvey went along with the plan as his wife and mother-in-law also both agreed to make the trip.
Later, all four returned home hot and irritated, with Harvey’s mother-in-law admitting that she always thought Abilene was a terrible idea and would rather have stayed at home. Harvey and his wife then declared that they had not wanted to go either, but had agreed to it to avoid rocking the boat when everyone else had seemed keen. Even Harvey’s father-in-law said he had not really wanted to travel in the unairconditioned car. He explained that he had only suggested the trip as he was worried his guests were getting bored.
Harvey went on to coin this occurrence the Abilene paradox, in which there is a failure to effectively manage agreement.
In modern organisations, learning how to deal with the agreement is more pressing than the management of conflict.
The Real Danger
The Abilene paradox can have terrible consequences. The 1986 NASA shuttle tragedy, in which all seven crew members lost their lives, is such an example. After several delays and launch cancellations, managers were desperate to launch the shuttle. As a result, the group collectively disregarded warnings from engineers about the risks associated with a launch in cold weather. With millions of viewers watching live on TV, the shuttle broke apart within 73 seconds of launching.
The Abilene paradox at work
When decisions are not truly backed or agreed to, individuals and organisations are at risk of making “wasteful, costly and at times disastrous” decisions.
Group mentality can also make people feel absolved of responsibility for a decision. This lack of accountability can have negative effects.
How you can manage the Abilene paradox
The Abilene paradox may occur in your professional or personal life. It’s a sneaky phenomenon that can be hard to spot, precisely because it arises from a fear of speaking up.
The following strategies may be helpful in both recognising the paradox and limiting its potential for damage:
Foster a safe environment. Psychological safety is paramount to avoiding the Abilene paradox. Without it, team members may remain quiet and nominally agree with the rest of the group rather than risk looking like outsiders.
Make space for honest discussions. Instead of waiting for those conversations to happen, make sure there is a time for these to be held, which will ensure that the final decision is based on a review of diverse perspectives. Simply allotting half an hour for an open forum where all thoughts are fair play can help mitigate the Abilene paradox.
Be transparent in addressing feedback. As a leader, there will be times when opinions are voiced that you disagree with. It is helpful to offer feedback to team members whose suggestions or views are not taken on board, to explain the rationale behind the final decision. This should provide confidence that their opinion was still considered so that they feel able to share their views again in future.
As you can see, the Abilene paradox can lead to costly decisions. To promote a culture where people feel able to raise concerns or opinions that differ from those of others, it is crucial to foster a psychologically safe environment, promote honest discussions, and give clear feedback.
Take good care & enjoy reading your weekly dose of cerebral happiness! And if you liked it then do not hesitate
Joe
🍀-Snippets of Value for the Week
WHAT I’M READING - Astrophysics For People In A Hurry By Neil Degrasse Tyson
WHAT I’M LISTING - The Theory of Everything By Stephen Hawking
ARTICLE - Against Ambition, this article highlights ambition as a word that holds ambiguity. It’s our intention that drives us to succeed in our endeavours. I recommend checking this blog post.
Your example of the 1986 NASA shuttle tragedy in relation to Abilene paradox reminds me of similar accident happened at Bangalore when the Prototype Aircraft developed by NAL named 'Saras' crashed in the year 2009 in which the crew consisting of two Test Pilots and one Test Engineer died.