Last night we went to the New York Yankees game, although I would really rather say we went to the Philadelphia Phillies game at Yankee Stadium! Regardless of how I say it, the Phils got clobbered 8-1! It was painful to watch, but I like the Yankees too, so I felt like I was rooting for both teams. You have to root for the Yankees if you sit where we sat: the right field bleachers. 

And last night was exceptionally so! It was a bunch of drunk adolescent young men who were all running on a spicy mixture of testosterone and beer—until security arrived. There was one particular young man who was actively bullying a few kids. He really needed to simply sit down and shut up so we all could watch the game, but no, he went on and on in his Judge jersey, Lululemon joggers, diamond stud earring, and egregiously fake spray tan. Surprisingly, this crowd let him. It was a great example of crowd psychology or herd mentality, whatever you want to call it. No one wanted to tell him he was WAY out of line, myself included, although I was so close a few times. Eventually, his private conversation with security changed his behavior and he toed the line for the remainder of the game. Thank goodness!

Group thinking is a real thing, and it’s not just by drunk young men at baseball games. It happens in corporate America, too. It happened at your last meeting! It’s all based on fear—we don’t want to the the outlier because, back in the day, the outlier got eaten by the sabertooth tiger. The next time you go into a meeting I want you to think about what you’re agreeing to by remaining silent. Last night, I allowed a bully’s outrageous behavior. I didn’t need to fix it myself, but I wish I had voiced my concern to security. Someone did, but it wasn’t me. I feel a little bit complicit. Group thinking isn’t always bad, but it also isn’t always good. We know the difference, it’s when we feel a pull to say something, to stand up for something. And we don’t want to be left with, “I wish I had said something,” like me last night.

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!
Beth