When leaders, consultants and managers require ideas, they automatically tend to herd people into a room and conduct a (usually ineffective) brainstorming session. One reason for their ineffectiveness is a failure to consider the impact of group size.
There is a pervasive belief that creativity is enhanced in larger groups. However, significant data indicates that large groups are detrimental to creative output. Some of the arguments against large groups are:
a) The sum of ideas produced by individuals acting alone is greater than the sum of ideas produced by those same individuals when acting as a group.
b) Large groups dilute ideas.
c) Symptoms of group think increase as a group gets larger due to the illusion of invulnerability, unquestioned belief in the group's morality and rationalisation by collective justification of decisions.
d) As group size increases, the percentage of individual performance decreases. A single person is 95% engaged in a task, two people are each 90% engaged and the decline increases until it evens out at about 15 members to around 30%.
e) Groups of three to five elicit much more conformity than just one or two.
f) Large groups increase levels of evaluation apprehension and social loafing.
g) Large groups result in core and peripheral members, restricting information flow.
h) Conflict is inevitable as group size increases, causing sub-group formation and politicking.
i) Large groups create sub-groups with conflicting identitites and goals.
j) Large groups introduce time inefficiencies. 30 individuals can work on 30 problems and produce 150 ideas (30 x 5) in the same time that 1 group working on 1 problem produces 5 ideas (1 x 5).
The above and other data suggests that group size should be kept small. But there are also benefits to large groups such as a high degree of intellectual cross pollination, a high degree of competency exchange and radical frame-breaking. And what are the pros and cons of individuals working alone and in pairs?
This topic is covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com. You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.
Kal Bishop, MBA
**********************************
You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.
Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.
Culver prom limo ..The other day I got a call from a friend... Read More
The ability to build effective teams is a must for... Read More
The second in a series of 2 articles giving a... Read More
In the constantly changing world of Call Centers, asking agents... Read More
Remember playing in your childhood sandbox? If you enjoyed being... Read More
Have you noticed that some people seem to stop listening... Read More
The Fantasy: Your marketing budget is packed to the brim... Read More
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English, to speak... Read More
With over 25 years of research and experience, we have... Read More
Ever watched a really brilliant idea meet with resistance and... Read More
It's all about focusing on where the best value in... Read More
Teams don't have to be aligned with the goals of... Read More
The effects of conflict in the workplace are widespread and... Read More
At a time when many companies are scaling down their... Read More
Team Building Question:I'm a manager of a team of 20... Read More
Truth on mlmDid you know that the truth on mlm... Read More
The feedback I'm talking about here isn't some sort of... Read More
A follow-up companion reader to The 17 Indisputable Laws of... Read More
True or false? Teams that practice good teamwork contribute to... Read More
What's the Secret Ingredient That Turns Groups into Teams? Working... Read More
Team Building Question:Our office has recently learned that about 20... Read More
If asked to look at your work calendar for the... Read More
Do you let your people express their thoughts about the... Read More
From the moment he putted with Bob Hope on the... Read More
Recently I decided to stretch my athletic abilities and add... Read More
Wood Dale limo ..Ever lost for ideas while working in a group? One... Read More
The people in your team may feel a bit uncomfortable... Read More
Managing a small business continues to become more challenging. However,... Read More
Effective and sustainable teambuilding is necessary in today's marketplace where... Read More
A lot of effort has been carried out in the... Read More
Most managers simply herd some people in a room with... Read More
It's frustrating when your co-workers, audience members, teenager or even... Read More
Today, most of us have been involved in a team... Read More
12 Tips and Reminders for Team Members To Enjoy Their... Read More
A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals... Read More
Several years ago I took an assignment as a Manager... Read More
Multiculturalism is a reality in North America and for those... Read More
If you own a franchise you would be wise to... Read More
No figure in history is like General Patton. He was... Read More
1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number... Read More
What's the Secret Ingredient That Turns Groups into Teams? Working... Read More
Having experienced more than my fair share of conflict over... Read More
In the new corporate environments where everyone wears more than... Read More
On the trail in Northern Canada "Marche" was the word... Read More
One of the best lessons I have learned is the... Read More
The ability to build effective teams is a must for... Read More
1. Involve them. Many employees want to be involved in... Read More
One of the greatest challenges a coaching manager has is... Read More
Recently my fourteen-year old son Matt dressed up as Santa... Read More
From the moment he putted with Bob Hope on the... Read More
Team Building |