In the book, High output management, Andy Grove, Intel co-founder, makes a significant observation regarding meetings. Let me frame it in the context of something that we encounter regularly in planning meetings. There are two projects, both of which can bring in revenue and a decision has to be made. To pick an example from the book, we could

1. build a manufacturing plant next to an existing one
2. build another larger one far away.

What do we do?

In such meetings, Grove says, you would think that, multiple view points would be presented, there would be a healthy argument and the decision would be made. In reality, what happens is totally different. When the argument gets heated, people hang back and wait to see how the wind blows. Most people are afraid to stick their necks out and so once the direction is figured, they support that position.

Holding back opinion, Grove says, is driven by fear; the fear of going against the group by stating a different opinion. Everyone wanders, feels the group out and when a consensus emerges, they back it. This position emerges as the group position.

Most often, people wait for the HiPPO to set the direction and pile on that wagon. Grove writes, ” This is a terrible way to manage. All it produces is bad decisions, because if knowledgeable people withhold opinions, whatever is decided will be based on information and insight less complete than it could have been otherwise.” Thus he says, it is important for everyone to express their opinion as equals ignoring their status.

One place I worked encouraged everyone to voice their opinion and even rewarded employees who could exert influence over projects. But since everyone is encouraged to voice their opinion, you hear opinions from people who do not have depth, but love to hear their voices. They speak to make sure that they have a check mark on the box which says, I spoke. Thus in such meetings, it is important to ask deeper questions to weed out shallowness of opinions and maintain the quality of discussions.

Grove says, “We are all human beings endowed with intelligence and blessed with willpower. Both can be drawn upon to help us overcome our fear of sounding dumb or of being overruled, and lead us to initiate discussion and come out front with a stand.” Thus when leaders see this people waiting for a consensus to merge, they have to pause and guide the meeting to ensure that a fair discussion took place.