Imagine yourself at your favorite wing activity. You're standing in the lunch line when you see C/2d Lt O'Brien heading your way.

"Oh great..." you mumble as he approaches.

"I saw my colorguard kicked your colorguard's butt today in PT," C/2d Lt O'Brien says. "We would have won inspection too if those officers had cleaned their glasses. You know the secret to dominating in PT? Push-ups! Every time they screw up - BAM! - drop 'um for twenty!"

After picking your jaw off the floor you reply, "Aren't push-ups as punishment against the regs?"

O'Brien shoots back, "Look, I know what the regs say! You're just jealous because your team lost!" He storms off in a huff and you are left wondering how any Cadet leader could break such clear regulations and then defend his actions.

If you've been a member of CAP or another volunteer organization for a while then this scenario sounds all too familiar. O'Brien in the story comes from a squadron that has 'groupthink'. James Irving described groupthink as, "A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the member's strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action." ¹ Basically, a groupthink squadron will let unity trump reason; cohesiveness drives out all but one close-minded way of looking at things.

A groupthink squadron starts harmlessly enough, with a charismatic or stubborn leader who instills pride in the unit and discourages criticism of his ideas. But if this environment is fostered for weeks or months, other members of the unit will begin to oppose disagreement as well. As the sense of pride and elitism becomes excessive, the group will see itself as above criticism; in a way, invincible. Members violate regulations in favor of "better" ways of doing things and rationalize that these actions are good for the unit. This causes conflicts with higher headquarters, which can often escalate by leading to investigations and members of the unit being kicked out of the program.

The worst part of a groupthink unit is that lower ranking cadets are only exposed to the limited leadership philosophies and experiences of the staff at the unit. Other leadership principles, no matter how reasonable, are rejected. This is how groupthink becomes self-perpetuating. Cadets rising in the ranks emulate the groupthink because that's all they've seen. They justify their actions by saying, "That is how we have always done it."

Now that you know what groupthink is, you can identify its causes in your own squadron and take steps to prevent it. As a leader you can help your squadron or group avoid this dead end.

First, you want to encourage your cadets to attend activities outside the unit so they will be exposed to new ideas and leadership styles. You should also suggest that they visit websites like cadetstuff. Cadetstuff and similar forums are great places to discuss new approaches to leadership with more experienced members – and the articles are informative too! Then ask your cadets what they learned and have them share their new ideas with others.

Have weekly or monthly staff meetings where subordinates are encouraged to make suggestions. When allowing discussion and arguments at meetings, it's sometimes important to keep your preferences to yourself. If you find that you or one other person always seems to be leading discussions, you may unknowingly stifle other views. Remember, don't embarrass cadets who come up with ideas you think are dumb.

When picking a staff, seek cadets with different strengths, backgrounds and ideas.

It's important to note that even though you should encourage friendly disagreement, you should also remind your staff that they should respect rules and your orders. Disagreement should not turn into a full-blown yelling match in front of subordinates.

Lastly, you, too, should follow all the above suggestions! You must set the example by being respectful toward superiors and seeking out new ideas.

Since you're reading CadetStuff: congratulations! You've already taken steps to prevent your unit from stagnating with groupthink. So what to do about the C/2d Lt O'Briens out there? Next time you find yourself having a conversation with a cadet from a groupthink squadron, try saying, "Those are some interesting ideas you have there. Have you heard of this website called CadetStuff.org?"

I'm sure they'd love to hear about it...