Often when we have an important decision to make at work, we have a meeting with representatives of the affected parties, and make a consensus on the decision.
This appears to be a fairly good way of doing it, but when it comes to decision making it appears that getting a consensus isn’t always the most effective method, and it tends to make the final decision more risky or less risky and more conservative, if that makes sense.
What we find is when a decision is made as part of a group it tends to make the decision more extreme or more polarized, and often places too much or too little risk on the outcome.
Why is this the case? Getting together with like minded people often reinforces and increases your beliefs and influences, and encourages people to exhibit more extreme views.
This phenomenon is found each time a group of people get together for a collective cause, and we see it in all sorts of settings, rallies, sports events and anywhere a large group of people are of the same opinion and persuasion. Is this a bad thing? On the face of it no, people who share their views in a group will often come up some good ideas, but any decisions taken will be much more extreme than if they had been taken by an individual alone.
If a group decision is not the best way to make a decision, then what is? In my next article I will be giving you some useful help on how to make the best and longest lasting decisions.