Human beings by nature have a “herding” mentality. As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together”. In life it has been proven that you will often not excel farther than the people you surround yourself with. Learning about Human Resources Management is an opportunity to explore how to maximize human potential in the workplace by serving as a good manager of people and their unique skillsets. The psychology of human beings cannot be ignored since people are almost certain to act as their nature dictates. In the article reviewed, “The Psychology of Crowds” by Chuck Csizmar, the author explores how herding mentality can act as a hindrance to a manager looking to set them self apart as a leader.
Csizmar’s major point was that if you do not want to simply be part of the herd, as a manger you have to learn how not to be a “yes” man. You should get comfortable breaking the mold, because managers who change this mentality are able to make a real difference.
The author starts off the article by discussing how when he was a child during recess the children were herded. Then as an adult in the military, during basic army training, drill sergeants crammed them into “cattle cars” to drive them to the different locations for their training. They would often yell “Moo!” to indicate that they felt like a herd. All of these experiences in the author’s life were part of building camaraderie and a spirit of teamwork with others. You feel as though you belong to something and becomes your comfort zone because of that human need to belong. But on the flip side it also caused groupthink and took away feelings of individuality. As the author stated, “the group focus suppresses the individual personality”. The author then goes on to say that when you transition into that role of a manager, you are now responsible for employees who report to you. And as such, you are