The abilene paradox occurs when leaders are assertive with friends and peers.

I think it’s about time we ask ourselves who we are, and whether or not we consistently act according to our values. It seems like most people feel free to be themselves and hold their own beliefs when they’re alone, but whenever an individual is thrown into a larger group, they may say or do things contrary to their values. This phenomenon, commonly referred to as “groupthink” is a result of peer pressure and the human need for social interaction. Because people are social animals, we need to feel a sense of belonging to the community of people around us, but this need to belong can lead to a loss of individuality.  

When someone feels like they’ll be ostracized, mocked or belittled for disagreeing with other members of a group, then that individual might not voice opinions or ideas in order to protect themselves from embarrassment and pain. This is dangerous to the entire group because it gives the most assertive people in a group the ability to easily coerce everyone else into doing or believing something by convincing them that they should be ashamed of thinking or feeling any other way.

These situations can create the illusion that everyone agrees with the loudest voice in the room, and so even if half of the people in the group disagree, they may be too intimidated by the other half to collect themselves and voice a contradictory opinion. In short, even if many people in a group disagree with something, they may be deceived into thinking that everyone else agrees with the most assertive members. When this phenomenon occurs, it is known as the Abilene Paradox.  

Groupthink is a danger to society not only because it intimidates people into behaving differently, but also because it discourages free thought. Free speech is important to any society that strives to support a free people, but free thought is even more vital to the world than free speech. Free thought is the root of free speech, and if free thought is eliminated in a society then free speech will become obsolete. As the generation currently emerging into the world, we have a responsibility to ensure that freedom of thought is preserved.

We all have a tendency to become whatever we pretend to be. The more you change your actions to conform to a certain group, the more your mind will shift to fit your actions. Therefore, in the interest of preserving a society of freethinkers, we should be very careful about what we pretend to be. We should act as if we are who we wish to become, not who others want us to be.

JMU is an institution intended to educate people and prepare them for the complexities of the world, but if we don’t each take responsibility for our own moral, social and ideological development then the time we spend here will be for naught. If everyone is brainwashed into thinking a certain way, then everyone will investigate the problems a society faces from the same perspective.

As an academic institution, JMU has a responsibility to ensure that its students are developing into free thinkers and leaders in their field, not people who blindly follow others. Yet JMU cannot turn us into leaders if we don’t wish to be leaders ourselves. The true responsibility lies with each of us. What we chose to do and who we chose to be every day impact our community at JMU, and our choices impact who we are for the rest of our lives as well.  

Everyday decisions like what to eat, what to wear, whether or not to experiment with alcohol and drugs, who to vote for, what books to read (or whether to read at all) and who to date can all be heavily influenced by the preferences of the people around you. Negative outcomes may indeed be the result of poor choices made under pressure from the group or the result of changing one’s identity and beliefs to fit in, but the harm inflicted on the spirit and mind of the individual is detrimental even without considering such outcomes.

People who only define themselves based solely on the opinions and thoughts of others have no real identity. Someone who wears what they wear because “this is what everyone wears” and does what they do because “this is what everyone does” may not be doing any physical or emotional harm to the people around them. However, they’re still harming themselves and society with their indifference, as well as their tendency to blindly follow the trends of the masses without giving their actions any true thought. They’re harming themselves because they never discover what they like, what makes them unique or what they truly stand for, and this sort of ignorance of oneself is detrimental to their personal development as a human being.

Everyone deserves to grow as an individual, and I believe that the only way for any group to improve is to encourage people to grow as individuals. I believe that this is true for groups of friends, universities, towns and even entire countries. Opposing ideas, new ideas and alternate ways of doing things must be welcome within a society in order for it to flourish, and it’s just as vital to individuals that their voices not be snuffed out by the buzz of the masses.

Before you do something, say something or conform to anything, ask yourself if you truly feel comfortable with it. Ask yourself what you would do if nobody else was around, and try to think independently. If we all strive for independence and individuality, we may discover more about ourselves and each other than we ever could have imagined.  

Which of the following statements is true about leaders who are in the first quadrant of the credibility matrix?

What is one of the most important components of leadership success?

What two components make up credibility?

What is the most important components of leadership success and effectiveness?