Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Group Think

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 3 Jul 2011, at 8:59 AM, Joanie Connors wrote:

> There are many ways that these forces are playing a big part in our
> society right now - groupthink (lack of creative thinking, fear of
> change), intolerance of dissent, scapegoating of dissenters and
> ingroup vs outgroup thinking.

And we too often think that in cohousing we are "above" this. Any group is 
going to display the group dynamics common to groups. Sometimes I think 
residential groups are even more prone to group think because harmony is a 
higher expectation or desire for being "at home." Harmonious is how home is 
supposed to be. Even if our own home was not harmonious, we created this one so 
it would be perfect.

The reason that Gerard Endenburg was determined to make consensus 
decision-making work in his business as it worked in Quaker meetings and had 
worked in his boarding school was that he wanted the same harmonious 
environment. Welcoming objections so they can be addressed is key to 
establishing and maintaining harmony.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org