Eradicate Group Think
It is important that we know their distinctions, in this day and age when the buzz word in cooperate America is teamwork, which is considered to be the heart and soul of productivity – the essential ingredient that promotes a “true” spirit of cooperation, enhances morale, and enables the company to function most effectively and efficiently.
“We are looking for team players” is the foremost request of company executives; and the American public agrees – the willingness to function within a team should be one of the main prerequisites for employment.
To be honest with you, this whole concept of team work and team players scares the living hell out of me, because I am convinced that most of what is called teamwork isn't anything more than group think. And most of what is called cooperation is anything more than the willingness to participate and be subjected to intimidation. However, having stated my feelings, I recognized that my position is a drastic one and it requires clarification and further explanations, which I will offer here:
On March 16, 1968, a group of American soldiers from the Americal Division, (the division in which I served), entered the peaceful, friendly Vietnam village of My Lai, and without any just cause or provocation slaughtered more than 400 men, women and children – including infants and toddlers. They butchered these wonderful people that we were sent to Vietnam to protect!
Why did they do it? Answer: They were members of a team, and they were acting in accordance with the team leader’s decision: He gave a command that required “teamwork” and they simply followed orders (This was the soldiers’ rationalization of the events that came out in their court martial trials).
So why did the team leader do it? Answer: he was a member of a command team, and he was acting in accordance with the command team leader’s decision: He was given a command that required “teamwork” and he simply followed orders (This was the team leader’s rationalization of the events that came out in his court martial trials).
As a result of this massacre and other smaller, but similar incidences, the military started programs to ensure that every member of the armed forces was given hours of instructions in The Code of Conduct, The Rules of Engagement, and The Geneva Convention: The international rules that governs the actions of all countries concerning their treatment of civilians, combatants, prisoners of war …
I was one of the young non-commissioned officers who were sent to school to learn these courses in preparation for teaching them. As it turned out, it ended up being one of the truly great learning experiences of my life.
First, I learned that this type of action had a name – Group Think, and I also learned that it has happened many times before. The most noted example of it was Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich and their extermination of the Jews. A lesser known fact is that it happened in the United States, when President John Kennedy was Commander-in-Chief; the incident is known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
However, it was the second lesson I learned that had a more profound influence on my thinking from that time to the present: I learned that the laws in all countries that agreed to The Geneva Convention, including the United States, considers the individual accountable for his actions – even when he performs those actions as a member of a team. “I was just following orders” or “Everyone in my team was doing it” are not justifications for breaking the law, telling a lie, treating others unfairly, or doing anything that he knows in his heart is wrong! I learned that The Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States seems to be in agreement in their suggestion that the ultimate responsibility for personal actions at all times (except in instances like turture) is the moral conscious of the individual.
This brings me back to the original point: How do we know when our actions as a member of the group is team work or group think? The answer lies within each of us; our motive is the determining factor. For example: If you truly believe that cutting entitlements in Wisconsin is the only way to reduce Wisconsin’s debt, and therefore, you agree and support Governor Walker’s policy – That’s teamwork! If, however, on the other hand, you know in your heart and soul that thee are many other and less painful ways to reduce Wisconsin’s debt, but you’re going along with the governor because to do otherwise and speak up would be bad for your business – that’s group think!
If you truly believe that Governor Walker’s cuts to school districts will improve the quality of education in Wisconsin, and therefore you support him –That’s teamwork. If on the other hand, you truly believe that the governors cuts are going to hurt the quality of education in Wisconsin, but you are pretending to agree with the governors policy, because to do otherwise might cost you your job – That’s group think!
Courage isn’t the absence of fear; courage is doing the right thing in spite of the fact that you are scared to death, ever fiber of your body is trembling uncontrollably, and tears are running down your eyes. I learned this lesson on the battlefield as an American soldier.
God help us to have the courage to eradicate group think from this wonderful, awesome nation – The United States of America!
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