Summary

  • Groupthink suppresses critical thinking. When team cohesion becomes too strong, it can silence dissenting voices and encourage poor decision-making. 
  • Behavioural diversity is essential. Teams benefit from varied approaches and fresh perspectives among members.
  • Belbin Team Roles help combat conformity by identifying and celebrating strengths, helping teams to avoid echo chambers.
  • Smaller, well-balanced teams are more resilient to groupthink and can better handle complexity.
  • Empowered individuals protect against groupthink. Giving people the confidence to play their Belbin roles supports team health.

What is groupthink?

Groupthink occurs when a group's pursuit of cohesion and conformity limits creativity and diversity, disrupts the group's ability to solve problems and make decisions, and overpowers the morality of individuals within the group.

The situation – rather than individual character traits – becomes the main driver for behaviour, with potentially dangerous consequences.

The term was first defined by psychologist, Irving Janis, in 1972:

"Groupthink refers to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures".

How does groupthink come about?

Groupthink tends to flourish in environments where:

  • There is an emphasis on cohesion and harmony. The organisation's intentions might be good, but too much can lead to a prescriptive group culture which prizes unanimity over diversity.
  • Recruitment leads to cloning. Similar people are hired repeatedly, leading towards homogeneity within in an organisation.
  • Authority is unquestioned. Teams try to please leaders, rather than challenge ideas.
  • The group is insular and outsiders are excluded. The team ignores expert advice from outside in favour of maintaining the status quo.
  • There are no protocols in place to offer checks and balances when making decisions. People feel invincible. They ignore their own moral compass and take increasing risks in the name of success. 

The larger and more insulated a group becomes, the greater the risk. Nonconformists get shut down, moral checks are ignored, and pressure to agree gives the illusion of consensus.

So, what’s the tipping-point?

When does a team become a group? How does the psychology change, and what influence does this have on individual behaviours? How do we guard against ‘groupthink’ when the drive towards uniformity is ingrained in us?

At Belbin, we draw some important distinctions between teams and groups.

A team is small (ideally four people), diverse, and tolerant of differences.

A group is larger, more prone to conformity, and susceptible to hierarchical pressures.

True teams allow for rotating leadership, mutual understanding, and meaningful dialogue. Groups, by contrast, often drift towards conformity and "us versus them" thinking.

Groupthink And The Importance Of Behavioural Diversity Tipping Point

" The bigger the group, the greater the unseen pressures that make for conformity."

Dr Meredith Belbin

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How to use Belbin to guard against groupthink

There are a few ways we can use the Belbin methodology to help teams embrace behavioural diversity and avoid falling into the groupthink trap.

 

1. Improve decision-making by using thinking roles to advantage

Decision-making can be a thorny issue for teams – debating which course to take means exploring opposite points of view and drawing attention to areas of difference.

The temptation can be to opt for cohesion to avoid conflict.

In Belbin terms, the ‘Thinking Roles’ play a vital part here.

  • Monitor Evaluators offer objectivity and thoughtful analysis.
  • Plants generate original ideas and aren't afraid to disrupt the status quo, making them a great antidote to conformism.
  • Specialists can provide expert advice that can refine or redirect decisions.

 

Groupthink And The Importance Of Behavioural Diversity Thinking Roles

To guard against groupthink, ask:

  • Are new ideas from the Plant dismissed as unrealistic?
  • Do Monitor Evaluators get rushed or shut down?
  • Is Specialist input valued – or ignored to keep people comfortable?

Your team's responses can reveal a lot about openness to challenges.

Belbin Team Report Team Role Circle Strong Examples Showcase

2. Promote behavioural diversity

Ethical behaviour is rooted in difference. When teams obscure individuality, problems arise. Belbin encourages teams to:

  • Identify distinct Team Role contributions
  • Understand and value each person’s natural strengths
  • Avoid overlap or role gaps that lead to imbalance

The Belbin Team Role Circle offers a visual snapshot of behavioural spread—highlighting both strengths and potential vulnerabilities in your team structure

To guard against groupthink, ask:

  • Do we see and value all Team Role contributions?
  • Are there some Team Roles which are 'oversubscribed'? What does this mean for how we approach problems and decisions?
  • Are there some contributions missing from our team? How can we access those if and when we need them?

Remember, not all teams need to have all Team Roles represented – it depends what the team's objectives are. But having a good understanding of your team's behavioural 'culture' can help guard against over-harmonising.

3. Empower the individual

Groupthink thrives when individuals go quiet. Counter this by:

  • Encouraging self-awareness – ask team members to complete the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory so they can receive their Belbin Individual report
  • Sharing team insights – with a Belbin Team report
  • Supporting those whose strengths go against group norms
Belbin Team Report Comparison Between Individual And Team Showcase

To guard against groupthink, ask:

  • Do team members understand their own strengths?
  • Have they asked for Observer feedback from others in the team?
  • Do individuals feel safe to make their contribution, especially if that contribution is underrepresented within the team?

If someone scores highly in a role that’s undervalued by the team, leaders have a responsibility to protect and champion that contribution.

Ready to health-check your team?

Ask yourself:

  • Is my team truly a team – or a group in disguise?
  • Are decisions inclusive, or do they reinforce the status quo?
  • Are you encouraging diverse behavioural contributions?

Belbin helps teams work smarter, not just together.

To build a team that challenges itself, values individuality, and avoids the trap of groupthink, start by discovering your team's behavioural diversity.

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