Two phrases that have raced towards the top of the jargon list are “Group Think” and “Echo Chamber”
They are so common now I won’t explain, only noting that this will get more and more prevalent, not least because our media / social media platforms are actually designed to surround us with information we already agree with.
This is so pervasive that we witness it in ourselves and in our businesses, so we are often surprised when something happens we didn’t predict.
To add to this, another relatively recent HR “buzz term” is “CLM”…or Career Limiting Move. To speak out with a radical alternative thought that contradicts the group is a “CLM”.
Every leader has as part of their responsibility consideration of risks that face their organisation. How many, though, truly consider the risks of such group think and take steps to address it? What, in fact, can we do to address it?
There is a simple solution, and one that removes the fear of the “CLM” and actively encourages an individual or group of people to act as “devil’s advocate”. This comes from the military, where it is called the “Red Team” concept.
In researching this for this post, what I liked the most came from Eytan Buchman, IDF spokesperson:
Intelligence is all about piecing together information amassed from a variety of sources. Like any puzzle in earlier stages, some pieces can be misinterpreted, which could lead to a cascading effect of incorrectly interpreted information. After the Yom Kippur War (1973), the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate created a Red Team, a devil’s advocate team that can challenge prevalent assumptions within intelligence bodies.
The unit is a small and elite one that consists primarily of officers with academic backgrounds. One of the key elements is access. The officers have unfettered access to information through the military and are capable of tendering reports to senior levels – even reaching above the major general who commands military intelligence. The combination of access to information and the ability to challenge hypotheses by going above the command chain is critical in providing a control for intelligence reports.
The unit’s tag line is based on the classic “He who dares, wins” used by the SAS, and changed to “He who thinks, wins”. The unit is also referred to occasionally as “Ipcha Mistabra”, an Aramaic term popular in the Jewish Talmud that means “on the contrary, it appears that…”
Keys to this are unfettered access both to information and to top leadership. This gives the team absolute confidence to challenge and assess all scenarios and risks.
Do you have a Red Team? If not, what risks might you be facing?
In closing, as a movie fan I love that this was popularised in the movie World War Z :