The Common Knowledge Effect – this fascinated us when were researching the latest Distinction podcast. It’s the idea that information known to everyone in a decision making group will dominate the discussion and have a more powerful influence on the decison outcome.
One individual may hold a piece of information crucial to making a correct decision but it may never get surfaced or talked about due to this efffect.
So next time you leading a group make space for everyone to share what they know and have the group give proper consideration to all the information that is available. And try to spot if the group is just focusing on the information they already knew.