Class, road trips, space exploration, and teams, what could go wrong? Another forum to explore some concepts, please make sure to complete both parts.

Part 1:

Have you ever gone along with a bad decision and tried to figure out later why you did? Well, don't be so hard on yourself, it is a phenomenon called Group Think or the Abilene Paradox. Our text covers it well but attached to this forum you will find two great links that discuss each. Please read them in preparation for this forum.

After reading viewing the links answer the following questions.

Group Think Article

Abilene Paradox

1. What is the difference (in your words) between groupthink and the Abilene Paradox?

2. Which do you think it is easier to fall into and why?

3. If you were leading a group and saw signs of Groupthink how would you handle it?

4. Are there any personal examples of any of these (Groupthink, Abilene Paradox, etc) decision blunders that you have been a part of and realize now?

Part 2:

A large portion of our working lives is spent working in Teams. How we communicate with our team members is crucial to the success (or failure) of the team. In this week's lesson, we looked at the Ego states (parent, adult, and child). We all know that effective teams operate in the Adult-Adult realm of conversation and feedback, however, sometimes a rift can occur and cause us to operate from a higher or lower level with each other. Then there are other ways to look at team dynamics.

In the video below Charles Duhigg discusses how Google builds the most effective teams.

How Google Builds the Perfect Team

Think back to some teams that you have been on that were especially dysfunctional or effective. Did they follow the team dynamics favored by Google or were they more directive in nature? What made them work (or not work)?