The Pitfalls Of Group Brainstorming
Group brainstorming may be the common way for teams and groups to cultivate suggestions from the team to resolve issues, achieve goals and generate new ideas. But while this method may be the widely accepted, it may not be as effective as once thought. There are certain pitfalls with the traditional way group brainstorming is done. Here are some of them.
Bystander Effect
Group brainstorming sessions may sometimes suffer because of the bystander effect. It is a phenomenon wherein people may neglect to help a victim with other people present. In the same way, this effect may a group brainstorming session in that some participants may not fully be taken to task in contributing to the session, expecting others to take up the slack. Therefore, instead of generating ideas, it may sometimes stifle the capacity of the group to do so.
Overstepping of Ideas
In a group brainstorming session, participants usually take turns suggesting their personal ideas. Sometimes, it may prevent others presenting their own ideas since it may be similar to something someone already offered. It may also discourage them from sharing if one participant takes too much time in the sharing process. Some ideas may not even get into the table when such feelings begin to develop during the session.
Evaluation Fears
Some participants in a group brainstorming session may not actively share what they have in mind because of evaluation fears. In a session with experienced and new team members, the latter may sometimes have the fear of being judged by the former. They may not freely contribute to the effort as much for fear that they may be evaluated.
Tags: brainstorming ideas, brainstorming session, group brainstorming, pitfalls of brainstorming
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