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THEABILENEPARADOX.pptWatch this u-tube video or another video on the
THE ABILENE PARADOX
- What is the Abilene Paradox?
- Why does this paradox matter to us as leaders of teams?
https://www.coursera.org/lecture/social-psychology/assigned-video-4-1-the-abilene-paradox-iYTZw
THE ABILENE PARADOX
Organizations frequently take actions in contradiction to what they really want to do and therefore defeat the very purposes they are trying to achieve.
- Business theorists generally believe that managing conflict is one of the greatest challenges faced by organizations.
- The Abilene Paradox states that the inability to manage agreement may be the major source of organizational dysfunction.
THE SCRIPT
- My father-in-law suddenly said, “Let’s get in the car and go to Abilene and have dinner at the cafeteria.”
- I thought, “What, go to Abilene? Fifty-three miles? In this dust storm and heat? And in an unairconditioned 1958 Buick?”
- But my wife chimed in with, “Sounds like a great idea. I’d like to go. How about you, Jerry?”
Since my own preferences were obviously out of step with the rest I replied, “Sounds good to me,” and added, “I just hope your mother wants to go.”
- “Of course I want to go,” said my mother-in-law. “I haven’t been to Abilene in a long time.”
- So into the car and off to Abilene we went. My predictions were fulfilled. The heat was brutal.
- We were coated with a fine layer of dust that was cemented with perspiration by the time we arrived.
- The food at the cafeteria provided first-rate testimonial material for antacid commercials.
- Some four hours and 106 miles later we returned to Coleman, hot and exhausted.
- We sat in front of the fan for a long time in silence. Then, both to be sociable and to break the silence, I said, “It was a great trip, wasn’t it?” No one spoke
- Finally my mother-in-law said, with some irritation, “Well, to tell the truth, I really didn’t enjoy it much and would rather have stayed here. I just went along because the three of you were so enthusiastic about going. I wouldn’t have gone if you all hadn’t pressured me into it.”
- After the outburst of recrimination we all sat back in silence.
- Here we were, four reasonably sensible people who, of our own volition, had just taken a 106-mile trip across a godforsaken desert in a furnace-like temperature through a cloud-like dust storm to eat unpalatable food at a hole-in-the-wall cafeteria in Abilene, when none of us had really wanted to go.
- In fact, to be more accurate, we’d done just the opposite of what we wanted to do. The whole situation simply didn’t make sense.
Sxs. Of this paradox
- The inability to manage agreement defines organizations in the Abilene Paradox
Expressions:
Members agree privately, as individuals, as to the nature of the situation or problem facing the organization
Member agree privately, as individuals the steps required to cope with the situation or problem
The members fail to communicate their beliefs or desires to one another. They do the opposite and lead one another to misperceive the collective reality
Sxs. Of this paradox
4. With invalid and inaccurate information, members make collective decisions that lead them to take actions contrary to what they want to do, arriving at results that are counter productive to the organization’s intent and purpose
5. As a result of taking actions counter productive to the organization’s intent and purpose, members are frustrated, angry, irritated, and dissatisfied with the organization. Form subgroups with trusted others, blame other subgroups, and authority figures.
6. If the issue is not dealt with the inability to manage agreement – the cycle repeats
ACTION ANXIETY
- The first stop on the trip
The reason that members take actions in contradiction to their understanding of the situation or problem lies in the intense anxiety created as they think about acting in accordance with what they believe needs to be done.
(Hamlet, Watergate, Challenger, Boeing….)
THE ABILENE PARADOX
1. Organization members individually agree in private about the nature of the situation or problem facing the organization.
2. Organization members individually agree in private about what steps would be required to cope with the situation or problem.
3. Organizational members fail to accurately communicate their desires and/or beliefs to one another. In fact, they do just the opposite, thereby leading one another into misperceiving the collective reality.
4. With such invalid and inaccurate information, organization members make collective decisions that lead them to take actions contrary to what they want to do, thereby arriving at results that are counterproductive to the organization’s intent and purposes.
5. As a result of taking actions that are counterproductive, organization members experience frustration, anger, irritation, and dissatisfaction with their organization. Consequently, they form subgroups with trusted acquaintances and blame other subgroups for the organization’s dilemma. Frequently they blame authority figures and one another.
6. Finally, if the organization members do not deal with the generic issue – the inability to manage agreement – the cycle repeats itself with greater intensity.
Analyzing the Paradox
WHY DOES THE ANXIETY OCCUR it is supported by:
- Negative fantasies – acting in congruence with what they believe should be done – what will happen if I act this… provides the excuse
- Real/existential risk- all actions have consequences may/may not be worse than the present. Existential risk is one of life’s givens…
- Fear of Separation – we fear things we know about – separation, alienation, loneliness are things we know about AND FEAR. Taking a risk that results on our separation from others is the core of the paradox
Analyzing the Paradox
WHY DOES THE ANXIETY OCCUR?
- Psychological reversal of Risk and Certainty – the paradox w/in the paradox, our unwillingness to take such risk virtually ensures the separation and loneliness we fear (our US cultural emphasis on technology, competition, individualism in which we experience loneliness) we learned reality of separation yet not reciprocal skills of connection…
Bypassing the Trip or
Getting Out of Abilene
REDEFINE THE CONCEPTS & DYNAMICS
Victim and victimizer
Collusion
Responsibility for problem solving
Reality, knowledge, and confrontation
Real conflict (real differences) and phony conflict (people agree on the actions want to take and then do the opposite)
Group tyranny and conformity
Confront the Paradox of Agreement
Diagnosis: does the paradox exists:
Is the organization involved in conflict-management or management of agreement situation?
see Organization dx. survey
Confronter – calls it, own it, be open to the feedback
Technical level – confront it, note it, talk about it what you see and realize
Existential level – creative problem solving
