Releted Tags
What Is the Abilene Paradox?
The Abilene Paradox occurs when a group of people chooses a course of action that deviates from the desires of every individual in the group. Coined by management expert Jerry B. Harvey, the paradox highlights the breakdown of group communication where individuals go along with decisions they do not truly support simply because they believe others want it.
The paradox takes its name from a real-life story. In Harvey's example, a family ends up taking an uncomfortable trip to Abilene, Texas, despite none of the members truly wanting to go. Each person agrees to the trip, wrongly assuming that everyone else wants it. The result? A collective decision that no one genuinely supported.
In workplace settings, the Abilene Paradox can lead to poor decisions, project failures, employee dissatisfaction, and a lack of accountability, making it a critical concept for HR and leadership to understand and address.