Breaking Free from Groupthink: Strategies for Effective Nonprofit Leadership

Ever found yourself nodding along in a meeting, even when you disagree, just to keep the peace? You're not alone. Join Nathan Ruby on a journey through the intricate world of groupthink within nonprofit organizations. Drawing from personal highs and lows, we'll uncover how the quest for consensus sometimes leads us astray from our missions. Together, we'll dissect how the desire for harmony can cloud judgment, leaving well-meaning nonprofits with decisions that don’t serve their true purpose.

Chapters

• 0:08 Groupthink and Decision-Making in Nonprofits
• 10:13 Avoiding Groupthink in Decision-Making
• 18:45 Supporting Podcast Growth

Transcript

Nathan Ruby: 0:08

Welcome to the Practice of Nonprofit Leadership. I'm Nathan Ruby. Well, how are you today? I hope everybody's doing good. I am solo today. Tim will be joining us again next week, but we're going to be productive while Tim's gone.

Nathan Ruby: 0:25

And today we are talking about a phenomenon called groupthink. And if you've never heard of groupthink, or maybe you don't exactly know what it is, groupthink is a psychological phenomenon where the desire for harmony and conformity in a group leads to irrational or dysfunctional decision-making. And in a groupthink situation, people may prioritize consensus and unity over critical analysis or considering all available options. And when this happens, when you're experiencing groupthink, the output of that is poor decision making, because individuals suppress dissenting viewpoints and avoid conflict, and what happens is they just go along with the majority. And what happens is you get decisions that aren't as good as they could be or, in worst case scenario, you get an outright bad decision. You get a wrong decision because nobody stepped up or stood up or said anything and the group made a bad decision. And I think this comes out a lot for executive directors and nonprofits, because you let's be honest, I know this has happened to me before and I guess even now I'm not necessarily immune to this. I have to be careful of this, but as an executive director, you could feel pressure to align with board members or donors or volunteers, or sometimes even staff, and especially, I think this probably happens more when you are early in your career. I think the longer you are in the executive director chair and the more miles you have under you and the more tough situations you've led through, it's probably a little less likely this will happen, but for sure, early in your career, this is something that you really have to be aware of, and so anytime that a group's momentum takes you down a pathway where you end up with not so well thought out decisions or decisions that don't align with your organization's vision and mission decisions that don't align with your organization's vision and mission you're probably experiencing groupthink. So I think the biggest example I've got on this is several years ago oh man, how many years ago. This is probably oh, I don't know 20 years ago.

Nathan Ruby: 3:01

15 years ago, I was doing a site visit for the organization that I worked with. I was down in Northern Mexico and I actually had my wife was with me and actually on this one it was very rare One of our kids was with me as well. So we were in Northern Mexico, in the central part of the country. It's very dry, middle of the summer, july or August, hot, dry, dusty, dirty, you know this was. We were in the like tumbleweeds, you know, blowing across the road, that type of environment. And so we did.

Nathan Ruby: 3:39

I did a site visit on a boy's orphanage, visit on a uh, a boy's orphanage. So we rolled in there and the uh executive director of the organization was there to greet us and, uh, we had a great, great visit, got to meet some of the boys and hear about their stories and and what some of their dreams and and goals in life were. And it was, it was a great visit, they were doing great work, and so they were walking us around, giving us a tour of the place. And we come around the corner and there is, I kid you not, uh, I I don't know if it was an Olympic size in ground pool, but it was pretty close. It was this massively large in ground swimming pool and it was. It was not a cheap in-ground swimming pool. Well, I guess probably there's no such thing as a cheap in-ground swimming pool. They're all expensive, but this one was. You know, this was like what you would see at a hotel or at a resort. It was beautiful and it was empty. And not only was it empty, it was obviously been empty for a long, long time. There was dirt in it, there were weeds in it, there were, you know, branches in it and I don't know what else was in it, but it was obviously that it had not been used in a long time.

Nathan Ruby: 5:02

And so I asked the executive director, you know, hey, what's up with the pool? I mean, it was kind of hard to miss. And he goes yeah, a few years ago we had a donor in the United States that fought, thought that the boys really needed, uh, that, and you know, they wanted to fund it. And so, you know, I said yes, and I probably should have said no, but I said yes. And so they put it in, uh and um, and we ran. We didn't have any funding. It broke, you know, something broke, I don't remember, the filter or whatever, uh, and we didn't have the money to fix it. And so it just we haven't used it in a few years now.

Nathan Ruby: 5:39

And so I was like, well, you know, so the donor didn't fund the like ongoing maintenance of the pool. He goes, no, he just wanted to put it in, and then that was the last we ever heard from him. And so, you know, I laughed because of how over the top crazy that is, and it was sad as heck because, you know, not only did those resources been used to provide better outcomes for those boys that were in that facility, but it's just a perfect example of group think, because that donor did not do that in and of itself. You know he didn't do it, or she, or it was a couple I don't know who the donor was, but it wasn't in a vacuum. You know, other people were involved.

Nathan Ruby: 6:23

The board could have said no. The executive director could have said no, you know, somebody should have stood up and said you know what? This is really a bad idea. We appreciate your gift, we appreciate your thoughtfulness. You know, could we use your gift in some other way? So that's what you end up with when you have groupthink. You end up with decisions that later, three months, six months, a year, five years down the road, you look back and say, wow, that was not the best decision that I've ever made. So that is what can happen with groupthink in a real and practical way. So let's figure out how we can avoid that. So maybe that doesn't happen to us in our organization. So I've got how many things I have you? I have four things for you today.

Nathan Ruby: 7:11

So number one that we can avoid that from happening is to encourage open dialogue and diverse opinions, and I think this goes back to us as leaders and developing a environment or a culture that says everybody's opinion well, maybe not opinion, it's not the right word but feedback. Seek out an opportunity for people to give feedback and a wide range of feedback. So maybe board members and staff and volunteers, and maybe the people that you serve, whatever people your organization serves, they have a distinct perspective that is different. That could be valid in whatever decision you're trying to make Just want you to create an environment where different opinions are valued and even if they challenge the status quo, even if they are a hundred percent or 180 degrees away from what you think it ought to be, um, it's okay to have an environment that encourages that feedback and that, uh, that conversation, and a way to get to those is using questions. We did an episode on questions. I think that was last week. We did questions but you could use. What are the risks of this approach or what would happen if we tried something different. So questions like that that just bring out conversation and allows people, gives them the green light to bring different ideas and solutions, and I think it's important here.

Nathan Ruby: 8:46

If you're new to being an executive director and you're new to leading your team, it is okay for your team to disagree. It's okay for your staff to disagree. It's okay for your board to disagree. Some of the most productive conversations that I've been in for any of my boards, for any of the organizations I led, were discussions where not everybody agreed. It is okay to have that, and I think if everyone agrees on everything, 100% of the time, you are living groupthink in real time. So not everyone has to agree. That said, once the decision has been made, then everyone needs to be on board with that decision, whether they agreed with it or not. So it is okay in the discussion period, in the conversation period, in the I'm gathering information before you make a decision as the executive director, it is okay for dissension and it's okay for different opinions. Not everybody has to agree. However, once the decision has been made, now everybody gets on board with that decision, whether they liked it or not. All right. Number two this is one I have never done before and I'm actually kind of anxious to try it. So this is assign a devil's advocate. I think this is fascinating.

Nathan Ruby: 10:13

So in this, you would assign someone either on your leadership team, on your staff team or part of a board member to intentionally take the opposite viewpoint in discussions. Remember, I don't know if you ever did speech in high school, so you would get an issue and then you would end up on one side or the other of the discussion and then you would have that be the speeches. You'd have to defend that. And so you know their role is to question assumptions, challenge ideas constructively. I mean, we're not looking, we're not asking somebody to be a, you know, a ding dong or a ding bat or or to intentionally, you know, irritate people. That's not, you know, that's not the role, that's not the job, but to just to encourage healthy skepticism and critical thinking. And so you will have a different perspective on something if you are intentionally and actively thinking and arguing a different strategy or direction. So if you wake up in the morning and you say, okay, you know everybody else is thinking, you know how are we going to do the? You know we're going to go this way. My job is to challenge that and to maybe, maybe it's best to go this way. So what would that look like? How would we go about that? So, if you have somebody who's actively considering that, you will have a much different discussion than if everybody's sitting around the table and, to the sums, they're saying, well, I don't know any other way to do it. So, yeah, I guess that's good enough for me. That's group think All right, so assign a devil's advocate.

Nathan Ruby: 11:51

Number three seek external input. And it is always important, and the bigger the decision, the more seeking external import is recommended. If it's something simple, should we have this centerpiece at the gala or this centerpiece at the gala? You know, I don't think you need to go ask people in the community which one they like, a or B. I don't think it's that important, although although that's me, I don't know Maybe it is, maybe it is that important to some people, but that's not something that I would do. But when you get to you know, let's say something really big, uh. What would be really big? Uh, should we consider adding on, you know, a 2000 square foot, uh foot extension onto our warehouse? Okay, that would be a major thing. So that would be something that you would want to.

Nathan Ruby: 12:46

Seek external input. So get out of your immediate group, reach out to experts, reach out to third parties, get a fresh set of eyes, somebody to look at what you're looking at, look at the details, look at the information and give you some input that maybe you know they're not biased based on the conversation that's already been going on. So maybe it's a consulting organization or a peer group or a mentor. You know any of those and I think this is a great reason why, as an executive director, you really should be connected with other leaders in your organization. Maybe it's the Chamber or Rotary or Kiwanis or whatever. Whatever organizations in your area, in your community, wherever the leaders of other organizations gather. That is a good place for you to be.

Nathan Ruby: 13:39

Just for something like this. You could be on a typical rotary Kiwanis you come in, you're visiting with people, lunch is ready, you grab your food, you sit down at a table and you've got 10, 15, 20 minutes where you're eating lunch before the program starts In those 15 or 20 minutes. If you have somebody in there that you know has expertise in something that you are trying to figure out. Oh my gosh, I've had dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens I don't know how many dozens that is, but that's a lot of dozens of people that have come up to me in situations like that and sat down and said, hey, I have a question on this. What would you do and I am happy to give information on that, and so will other leaders If you come up and say, hey, I'm struggling with this, can you, you know, can you give me your, your take on this? 99% of the time, people are happy to do that, so seek external input. People are happy to do that, so seek external input.

Nathan Ruby: 14:46

And then fourth is use data to drive decisions, and in the nonprofit world I used to hear more about data and data-driven decisions. I don't hear as much of that anymore. I don't know if it's fallen out of vogue a little bit and not as popular, but data is still critically important and so, whenever possible, rely on data and evidence rather than opinions and feelings. When it comes to decision-making, and whether it's feedback from the people that you serve or performance metrics or donor behavior, using concrete data can help you make more informed decisions than just kind of going along with what everybody else at the conference table is saying. And you know, of course, whenever it's data-driven decisions, the easiest example here is fundraising. That's the easiest thing in a nonprofit world, I think, to do data-driven decisions and you take your gala.

Nathan Ruby: 15:50

Or do the numbers, do the dollars raised, the support levels, do they support the strategy or the tactic that you're doing? I mean, the numbers are right there. We spent this effort, we spent this money. You know we spent this, we raised this. Is this a good decision, yes or no? That data will be helpful in having that conversation. On a program side, you may have a program that is using 30 of your, your resources but only producing 10% of your total outcomes. Is that program worth it to keep it? Well, I don't know. It may be, it may not be, but having that information, having that data, will help you to have constructive decisions around that very question, so that you have the right information to make the right decision for your organization.

Nathan Ruby: 16:45

Groupthink can undermine decision-making and hinder innovation in any organization. It doesn't make any difference what the organization is, whether it's for-profit or nonprofit, big or small. Every organization is subject to the issue of groupthink, in nonprofits, and especially in smaller nonprofits, and especially in smaller nonprofits with early career executive directors, this is you're really susceptible to this. So, as an executive director, it's your job to set the tone for healthy discussions and create an environment where different ideas can be discussed, people that have different concepts of what the pathway forward. You need to have an environment where those people feel comfortable in having those discussions. By actively combating groupthink, you'll keep your organization better informed, better decisions and you will have a much better chance of moving towards your vision and mission and making an even deeper impact in the world.

Nathan Ruby: 17:53

And I'm going to leave you with this as a leader. It is not possible. It is not your job. Not only is it not your job, it's not even possible to know the right answer all the time. You are going to make bad decisions, you're going to make wrong decisions it's part of the job, but it is not your job to be the smartest person in the room all the time. If you create an environment where everyone's voice can be heard and where decisions can be made thoughtfully and strategically and avoid groupthink, you will, more times than not, come out with the best decision, or at least a better decision, and your organization will be stronger because of it.

Nathan Ruby: 18:45

All right. Well, thank you for listening today and you know what, if you haven't done this yet, tim and I are going to ask a big favor, and I know you're probably listening to this as you're driving in the car or doing the dishes. I listen to a lot of podcasts where I'm doing the dishes. But whatever you might be doing, and if you've not given us a rating yet or liked us or joined us any of those things, we'd love if you could just take a few seconds and do that quick. It helps us in the algorithms, it helps us to get our message out more to a broader audience, to help even more people learn how to run their organization a little better and have a little bit of fun while they're doing it. So we'd love it if you could do that. That would be awesome, all right? Well, that's all for today, until next time.