EP251: The Bandwagon Effect at Work
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(The notes below are only a brief bullet point summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email to angie@angie-robinson.com.)
Last week, I talked about how one person can build a whole conclusion out of a single moment. We looked at the ladder of inference and one of my favorite questions: What else could be true? If you haven’t read or listened to Episode 250, I’d encourage you to start there.
This week, I want to look at what happens when a whole group climbs that same ladder together. Because when one person jumps to a conclusion, that’s one thing. A whole room jumping together is something entirely different.
A Quick Refresher on The Traitors
The Traitors is a reality game show set in a castle in Scotland. A few of the players are secretly traitors; everyone else is a Faithful. The Faithfuls work to find the traitors and banish them, while the whole group completes challenges to add money to a prize pot. Each night at the round table, the group votes to banish someone, and that person reveals whether they’re a traitor or a Faithful. Then, overnight, the traitors “murder” someone. If even one traitor makes it to the end, they take the whole pot.
What’s wild is that there’s rarely obvious evidence. People pick up on little things, and the conclusions build from there.
How the Bandwagon Forms
One person suspects someone because of something they said, or because their energy shifted, or because something they did looked suspect. They say that name out loud, maybe to their alliance, and it starts to build momentum. Someone else says, “Huh, yeah, maybe I can see that.” Sometimes people push back. But often, the momentum wins.
It’s especially fascinating when a traitor plants a seed about someone who is clearly innocent. As viewers, we know it’s not true. The traitor is simply trying to get everyone on board to banish someone they want out.
And it can be dangerous. Dangerous for integrity, for psychological safety, for trust, all the things I talk about in the workplace.
Why Standing Out Feels Risky
On the show, people are very aware that standing out can make you a target, no matter how good your intentions are. If you defend the person everyone else suspects, now people start wondering about you.
So people tend to vote with the group. Not always because they’re convinced, but because it’s safer. There are players who stick with their own intuition regardless of the consequences, and I really appreciate that. But they’re the exception.
There’s something else I notice. The voice that sounds most certain often carries the vote. Certainty can sound like information even when it isn’t true or credible. The person who says “I just know” usually gets more weight than the person who says “I’m just not sure.”
And then the group banishes someone, and that person stands up and says they’re a Faithful. The room goes quiet. Everyone was so sure, and they were so sure together, and they were all wrong.
Why We Do This
When we’re unsure, it’s natural to look to other people to figure out what’s true. Our brains want certainty, and someone else’s opinion gives us something to grab onto. It’s a quick way to get from unsure to sure, even if we’re not totally sure.
Most of the time, this isn’t a bad thing. If someone is certain a big storm is coming and we should take cover, I want to listen to that person. At work, it’s how we learn the unwritten rules of a new job or team: where people sit in the meeting, what “urgent” actually means here, what matters most.
But it has a name when it goes wrong: groupthink. Psychologist Irving Janis studied big decisions that went badly and found groups where keeping the peace mattered more than getting it right. People held back their doubts because they didn’t want to be the one to rock the boat.
I also think self-awareness matters here. Some of that uncertainty comes from not trusting ourselves. If I don’t trust myself, I don’t feel safe enough to say what I think, and it becomes easier to believe what others are saying without doing my own examination.
I want to be clear: this doesn’t mean people are weak. It means belonging matters to us. And the group knows it, even if nobody says it out loud.
Where This Shows Up at Work
The first opinion wins. Or the most senior person shares their view first, and the discussion quietly stops.
A label sticks. “Everyone knows that team is difficult.” “Everyone knows that person isn’t a team player.” Ask where that came from, and the answer is often, “I don’t know. That’s just what I heard.” When a story gets repeated, it starts to feel like fact.
The real meeting happens in the hallway. Nobody says anything different in the meeting, and then afterward all the disagreements and frustrations come out, just not where they need to be heard.
When groupthink takes over, we miss individual perspectives, expertise, and voices we need to hear. And we limit what our results could be.
What Leaders Can Do
Don’t always speak first. When you’re in a leadership position, your opinion gets the loudest vote whether you want it to or not. When you go first, you set the starting point for everyone else. Depending on the situation, try hearing from others before you share where you’re leaning.
Get independent input first. Not everyone likes to speak up in meetings, and some personalities tend to take over the conversation, which can shut others down. Before the discussion starts, ask everyone to write down their view. I love sticky notes for this. Virtually, use the chat. They can even be anonymous. Then use those as the starting point for discussion, so the first person who speaks doesn’t become everyone else’s thinking.
Bring “What else could be true?” to every big decision. Ask it yourself, or make someone the keeper of that question for the group. You can even use sticky notes again and have people write down their answers.
Pay attention to how you respond. If someone brings a different opinion or challenges yours, your response decides whether anyone ever does that again. Get defensive, and the room learns to stay quiet. Respond with curiosity, “Thank you for saying that. Tell me more,” and you set a completely different tone.
Check yourself. Are you agreeing because you’re convinced, or because it’s easier?
All of this comes down to one skill: thinking for yourself while still being part of a team. That’s critical thinking, and I’ll go deeper on it in the next episode. I think it’s becoming a lost skill, and it deserves a complete refresh.
Nobody Is Exempt
Back to The Traitors. When I watch who gets suspected, I notice that nobody is exempt. Every color energy can look suspicious to someone:
Cool Blue: the quiet, careful player who watches everything gets read as hiding something.
Sunshine Yellow: the high-energy, chatty player connecting with everyone gets read as trying too hard.
Earth Green: the warm player who wants to be everyone’s friend and avoids conflict gets read as won’t take a side, so what are they covering?
Fiery Red: the player who takes charge and pushes for a decision gets read as steering the vote.
They’re just different styles. A lot of what we read as suspicious is simply a person who’s different from us.
The bandwagon doesn’t form because people are careless. It forms because agreeing feels safe. Certainty feels safe. As a leader, you get to decide how safe it is to disagree, to have your own opinions, and to have healthy debate.
What Do You Think?
When have you gone along with a group decision you weren’t sure about, and what made agreeing feel safer?
Links
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