The document discusses the Abilene paradox, where group members agree to an idea that no one actually wants in order to avoid conflict or please others. It can negatively impact organizations by leading to flawed decisions. Factors that contribute to the paradox include groupthink, anxiety about disagreeing, fear of isolation, and following strong leaders. Symptoms include frustration with decisions, lack of trust, and avoidance of responsibilities. To prevent the paradox, managers should encourage disagreement, avoid pressuring consensus, and address power imbalances and communication issues in groups. Unchecked, the paradox can damage employee relations, hiring, and company operations.

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The Abilene paradox was first identified by Jerry Harvey in 1974 when the family
took a trip to Abilene to get food (Martin, 2006). At first they all said yes, but when they
got home everyone stated they didn’t want to go in the first place and they only said yes
to please everyone else. The Abilene paradox is a dilemma where a couple of people say
one thing and the others go along with their decision just to come to an easy agreement.
In present time, the Abilene paradox presents a problem in many places. Specifically, the
Abilene paradox is affecting the workplace in a way of causing companies to go in the
wrong direction.
When people get into groups they tend to go with the majority opinion rather than
explain their own. People naturally want to belong in groups and have their voices heard,
and they want to work collaboratively together to get to a decision. When people are
working together in a group such as in a business meeting, a decision is what they are
generally trying to accomplish. However, the Abilene paradox comes into play when the
decision is about to be made and half of the people think it is a good idea and the other
half privately thinks that it is not a good idea, but they say yes to it just to fit in and end
the meeting. The group members are contradicting themselves when they say yes and
mean no, according to Rakow, “the team members take actions in contradiction to what
they really want to do and therefore defeat the very purposes they are trying to achieve”
(Rakow, 2011). The group member’s failure to assert their own opinion might put the
organization at risk by not speaking up to a possibly flawed decision. People also behave
in a way that “they want to be told what to do” (Talbot, 2003) so naturally they will go
with the majority and accept the decision because they are now being told what to do and
do not have to think of something themselves. This effects staffing and HR in a way that

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the employees who say yes to a decision and it turns out to be a bad one, they will suffer
and might say that they never wanted this in the first place, impacting the relationships
between employees. Also, this impacts HR functions because employees might blame
one another for agreeing to a decision that turned out to be a bad one so there will be
finger pointing throughout the company.
Group mentality is a contributing factor to the Abilene paradox because pressure
from other group members influences others to make a decision that is not based on what
they actually believe. Butler and McAvoy states that, “One of the main symptoms of
group thinking is pressure to conform to the group’s views” (Butler, McAvoy, 2007).
When people are in groups there is a tendency to conform to the majority ruling even
though some people might not believe it, they still “agree” to the majority. Often, they are
influenced by peer pressure that is not purposely done, but when everyone around you is
saying that this is a good idea let’s do that, then that is indirect peer pressure because you
are now pressured to agree. Individuals often censor or change their own opinions and
beliefs fearing that they are wrong and are afraid that they will be rejected for stating it.
The leader of the organization should make room for disagreement and Ballowe states,
“encourage your people to stand up for their convictions” (Ballowe, 2009). The leader
should tell their employees to assert their opinions and thoughts to assure them that their
ideas are welcomed and will not be met with hostility. If hostility arises against another’s
opinion, then the leader needs to be able to handle conflict well and keep the situation
under control and suggest ways to come to a compromise. In a group setting, people often
think to themselves that they are the only one who is thinking that way and that it is
negative. This is damaging to the individual and organization as it brings down the

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personal feelings of the individual and dampens potential creative and helpful ideas that
could help the company. Once the meeting has concluded and a decision has been met,
then the leader should ask the group if there is anyone who opposes the ideas set forth in
the meeting. This will potentially create second thoughts with anyone who originally
disagreed but really they agreed.
People have a natural tendency to be anxious and this is especially evident when
they are faced with the task of coming up with their thoughts and opinions in a group
setting. Action anxiety in groups is another contributing factor to the Abilene Paradox
because the anxiety causes the individual to state an opinion that is opposite of their own.
The individual might give suggestions even though they might not understand the issue at
hand or what is being discussed. People in group settings become anxious when they are
making their decision and opinions; they feel as though they are in the spot light so they
create decisions quickly without deciphering the facts of the situation. This leads to
decisions and opinions that are misguided and potentially hazardous. Individuals in group
settings also create negative fantasies when faced with creating their opinions and feel
that their assertion might cause negative implications among the other members of the
group. Negative fantasies can cause the person to make a decision or state an opinion that
is very different than what they believe, such as, “they foresee loss of face, prestige,
position, etc.” (Rakow, 2011). The individual fears that they will lose their job or become
an outcast if they state their opinion or ideas that differ from all the others, so they go
with the flow and agree. Anxiety cause people to create unmanaged thoughts and ideas
that lead the person to agree on something without using any cognitive thoughts to
process the proposed idea. Also, anxiety causes the person to create embellished negative

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scenarios that are driven by fear and mismanagement of their imagination. In order to
alleviate these negative aspects of decision making, the individual needs to get a hold of
their emotions and imagination and construct creative thoughts that are going to help
themselves and work well with the groups ideas. This harms HR functions because false
ideas of an individual can lead to failure of the group’s dynamics and trust creating
problems in the future.
Another important aspect of the Abilene paradox is the fear of being ostracized.
When people are in groups they naturally do not want to be separated by saying
something inappropriate. People want to be connected with everyone in the group even if
it requires them to say yes when they mean no just to be able to stay connected to the
group. The fear of being fired comes up during this thinking process, as Martin states
“they fear loss of face, being called disloyal or even being fired” (Martin, 2006). We
naturally do not want to be discredited for the thoughts we create and speaking up for
what we stand for or even fired from the job. This is part of the Abilene paradox, when
we follow the group’s ideas it will result in some sort of punishment or separation.
Anxiety can cause group members to suppress their own ideas in the meeting and in
doing that; creative thoughts will not contribute to the success of the company. Also, it
can possibly lead to depression of the individual because they are unable to express their
thoughts because of the anxiety they are feeling. Furthermore, the depression brought on
by the anxiety can possibly affect the performance of the employee in their respected job
leading to more problems in the workplace. Leaders and managers in the workplace can
be trained to identify employees who are acting anxious during group thinking processes
and help them to be able to express their thoughts in a productive manner. Also, the

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leader and manager can reassure the employee that their thoughts and opinions are highly
valued and they will not be met with hostility. During the meeting, the leader of the group
can first start by telling everyone that his or her input is highly valued and will be
respected by everyone.
The mentality of follow the leader is prevalent in the Abilene paradox; it is the
basis on how the paradox works. When people are in groups and are faced with the task
of coming up with a making a unanimous decision, some people are passive and go with
the flow. Typically in a group there is an individual who has a vibrant personality and
good speaking skills, and they are usually the ones who make suggestions and are the
first ones to agree on something. Furthermore, the passive people, or the ones who are
afraid to be ostracized, will agree with whatever the leader is saying regardless of their
own opinion and thoughts. If this is happening in an organizational meeting, whoever is
conducting the meeting should hear the outspoken person’s ideas or opinions and then go
around the room asking everyone individually for their thoughts and opinions so that
everyone’s voice can be heard. This can lead to blaming other people and the sub
committees when Ballowe states that, “as a result of taking actions that are
counterproductive, organization members experience frustration, anger, irritation and
dissatisfaction with their organization” (Ballowe, 2011). The anger and dissatisfaction
between the formed subcommittees will cause harm to the whole company and harm HR
functions in a way of handling employee disputes and possibly a high turnover rate. To
counter act the issue of “following the leader”, the manger conducting the meeting can
ask, “is anyone vehemently opposed to this?” (Ballowe, 2011). In doing this, the manager
can entice the passive or fearful people to express their truthful opinions. Having one

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strong person in the group can negatively impact the dynamics of the group by interfering
with everyone else’s thoughts or opinions.
There are symptoms that an organization can look out for to spot the Abilene
paradox and catch it before it becomes an unmanageable issue. When conducting
meetings, encourage everyone to speak their mind and express their opinions freely. The
manager can be on the lookout for individuals who give a different opinion while they are
in the group decision process, varying from what they expressed in a one on one meet. In
doing this, the manager can spot the Abilene paradox in its early stages and figure out if
there is a problem concerning communication. Another way to spot the paradox is to see
if there are any employees who are showing opposition to management, since “members
seem frustrated or resentful towards management and other team members” (Ballowe,
2006). If there is a program or process that was passed during a team meeting and there is
hostility towards it, then that could be a sign that the program or process is a by-product
of the Abilene paradox. If members have a lack of trust among one another then
everything that is proposed will not be trusted, leading to management to lose credibility
among their employees. Also, if the employees are avoiding responsibilities given to
them by their superiors then that is a sign that the trust has been lost between the
employee and manager. When group meetings require a unanimous decision to be made
then bad things can come. Ballowe indicates that “leadership by committee can breed
horrible decision-making” (Ballowe). Members are now incentivized to come to a
decision to end the meeting in the fastest manner or just to get something they want even
though it is a bad thing for the company. Simple body language can be observed as well
to spot the Abilene paradox. When a manager proposes a new idea and asks if everyone

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likes it, they can watch the eye movements of everyone. If someone is looking around
frantically to see everyone else’s opinion and then he or she come to an opinion, then
they most likely are in disagreement with them. If someone seems preoccupied when the
manager and group are discussing the proposals and only come to attention at the time of
decision-making then they most likely will not have any idea what was being discussed
and will make rash decisions based on nothing.
There are numerous ways to fight the Abilene paradox and solve it in a positive
manner. The organization can combat the paradox by identifying properties of
groupthink, the first signal of groupthink is the company fails to create an alternative to
the plan, there is a lot of pressure form employees for others to conform to decisions,
there is individual censorship of the alternative opinions being proposed by the group,
and there is “excessive rationalization of decisions” (Ballowe, 2006). Groupthink can be
hazardous in coming up with a decision and if a company can spot the elements of group
think then they might be able to stop the paradox. Managers at the company can make
room for disagreement during meetings and “encourage [their] people to stand up for
their convictions” (Ballowe, 2006). Encouraging your employees to speak their mind is
very important for a manager to do, so they can overcome their mental barriers and get
their thoughts heard. Another way to fight the paradox is to not use “rule by committee”
(Ballowe). When this term is used by a manager or a leader then the group is incentivized
to make a decision that they do not necessarily agree on. Incentivizing the agreement
process is damaging to the organization because not everyone is going to agree with
everyone else and in this case they are going to because they are not going to want to
slow down the meeting, and they want to get out as soon as possible. Also, managers

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should not pressure their employees to come to a decision too quickly; they need ample
time to create an honest opinion that is their own. If a manager is pressuring employees to
come to a consensus, then the manager is creating the perfect environment for the
Abilene paradox to form.
There is something now called the “value police”, a term coined by Thomas D.
Morton president and CEO of the Child Welfare Institute. The value police are people
who call out others for their own values and replace the values with theories that are not
typically considered the norm. If people are challenged on something that they believe in
then they might become hostile because they believe that their own opinion is the correct
one, (over the past two decades values have increasingly replaced theory and evidence as
the basis for many child welfare practice and program strategies” (Morton, 2015) Morton
is giving an example on how the “value police” are changing the thinking behind the
creation of programs and the strategies that are created for the program. This raises the
risk of the Abilene paradox taking holds in an organization by the “value police” because
they will speak up to something and it is not necessarily correct, but others will go along
with them. When a good opinion or program is created and it is up to a group to come up
with a vote to get it implemented, and one person speaks out against the good program
then the other group members might follow that one-person idea. This is when the
company will go to Abilene; the good idea was voted against because the program went
against one person’s values instead of going with the theory of it. Companies can
alleviate the issue of the value police by conducting training programs that emphasize the
importance of analyzing a program or suggestions for what they consist of and what they
are intending to do, and do not allow your own personal values cloud your thinking

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process. However, if it is a bad program or suggestion, then still do not let personal
values get in the way of you making an opinion, just focus on the negative aspects of the
program solely for what they stand for.
The negative implications of the Abilene paradox can have damaging effects on
employee relations, hiring and attainment of employees, and overall company operations.
The organization might be taken somewhere far worse than “Abilene” if the wrong
policies are agreed on and implemented. In order for companies to not fall victim to the
Abilene paradox, they need to watch out for the symptoms of the paradox and know how
to handle conflict. The impact from the Abilene Paradox on employee relations can really
hurt connections and relationships. Once all the team members are participating in a
meeting in which they are required to come up with an opinion on something proposed
by management, then the group members who might not care about the topic or is a
afraid to speak up will possibly affect the relationships among the employees. This might
cause others to place blame on the employees who did not give an honest opinion on the
subject, and finger pointing will cause HR department to be inundated with employee
conflict claims. The Abilene paradox could also impact the hiring and attainment of
employees of individuals who are seeking employment at a company that is in the grips
of the Abilene paradox, and then they may not want to get involved with that company.
Current employees will not want to work in an environment where there are failed
policies and procedures and the company could lose valuable employees if they do not
get the effects of the paradox under control. The HR department might not have enough
people to conduct interviews to replace the lost positions due to the hostility caused by
the paradox. This impacts HR because if they cannot handle the amount of conflicts

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going on internally, then quality employees will be lost and desirable applicants will
probably not go to that company because of the high turnover rate.
Ever since the discovery of the Abilene paradox, companies have been dealing
with the question of why individuals will say something different in a group setting.
Research into the Abilene paradox have found many reason to why people “follow the
leader” and why they say yes when they mean no. Companies must be able to overcome
the paradox by spotting the symptoms early on in order to prevent any damage that it may
cause. Leaders and managers at the company should practice group mentality exercises
so that the employees will feel comfortable in speaking their mind in a group setting. HR
departments, leaders, and managers in a company can work collaboratively to combat the
effects of the Abilene paradox, team work of the managing components of the company
is critical to overcome the paradox.
In summary, The Abilene paradox is a very damaging element to the current and
future workplace. Researchers have been able to identify the paradox and figure out how
it works to help HR and companies to prevent it. This topic is very important for HR
departments and companies to put a lot of research in to train their managers and leaders
in how to identify the symptoms of the paradox and how to prevent it. Companies do not
intentionally go down the wrong road but they do unknowingly because of the Abilene
paradox.

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References
Ballowe, T. (2009, July 7). How to identify groupthink: An introduction to the Abilene
Paradox | OnStrategy. Retrieved from http://onstrategyhq.com/resources/how-to-
identify-groupthink-an-introduction-to-the-abilene-paradox/
Ballowe, T. (2009, August 7). Combat the Abilene Paradox by Promoting Individual
Thought | OnStrategy Resources. Retrieved from
http://onstrategyhq.com/resources/combat-the-abilene-paradox-by-promoting-
individual-thought/
Martin, C. (2006, July). The Abilene Paradox: Does Everyone Really Agree? Or Are
They Just Being Nice? – Library Worklife:. Retrieved from http://ala-
apa.org/newsletter/2006/07/17/the-abilene-paradox-does-everyone-really-agree-
or-are-they-just-being-nice/
Talbot, C. (2003). How the Public Sector Got its Contradictions- The Tale of the
Paradoxical Primate. Integrating the Idea of Paradox in Human Social, Political
and Organizational Systems with Evolutionary Psychology. Human Nature
Review, 3, 183-195.
McAvoy, J., & Butler, T. (2007). The impact of the Abilene Paradox on double-loop
learning in an agile team. Information and Software Technology, 49(6), 552-563.

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Rakow, B. (2011). Abilene Paradox - Why Do We Say Yes When We Mean No.
Retrieved from http://drbj.hubpages.com/hub/Abilene-Paradox-Why-Do-We-Say-
Yes-When-We-Mean-No
Tom Morton | Child Welfare Institution | ZoomInfo.com. (2015). Retrieved from
http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Thomas-Morton/1211873

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