How Talented Are You at Achieving Consensus?
Issue 183, October 24, 2024
One of the major sticking points in organizational (even family) decision-making is the pursuit of a shared goal in building consensus while recognizing the diversity of opinions, thoughts and expertise of those involved.
But first, for the record, consensus is a general agreement about something, either an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group (Brittanica). And add to that, the result of consensus is a decision that is intended to factor in everyone’s opinions and perspectives.
For many leaders, however, majority rule is the guiding decision-making principle, so they aren’t disintermediated by a group decision. But to be impartial and fair, consensus is a better approach and also avoids any blowback later from anyone who wasn’t 100 percent in agreement.
That said, in practice, consensus is often based on compromise resulting from negotiation, backing down, exerting personal power and how cultural norms form the foundation and consideration of the outcome. That sounds like a lot to manage.
To level the game, consensus can best be achieved based on data that overrules personal opinion and disintermediates any bias. The only caveat is that the data must be based on asking the right questions from the right people. So, consensus, like transformation or change in any organization, comes down to the human factor which we wrote extensively about in our book, The Truth About Transformation.
Collective Concerns
Consensus serves a purpose, and many of us could provide specific examples of where and when we came together in small bands of individuals and recognized that we could move forward in better ways by working together collectively toward a shared goal.
Equally, one could come up with many other examples where the wisdom of crowds approach and desire for consensus prevented forward movement because solving a problem was fraught with far too much analysis leading to paralysis. In those cases, it takes a leader, either through natural charisma or the group’s vote, to steer the team and rally the group around the pathway to a solution and decision.
Living in a “freedom of speech” nation, we are taught to respect the fact that many want their voices heard. In a team setting, what we learn over time, however, is that not everyone is well informed, they don’t want to be responsible as lead decision-makers and don’t want to expose themselves to potential blame or ridicule. So, engaging many people in a dynamic, engaging conversation can backfire.
Getting Results
Working in reverse order, for consensus everyone involved needs to be in agreement with the core decision that is made and willing to see it through. Second, there will be no obstruction to the decision or the next steps. Finally, there must be support for the decision and its execution by everyone involved (The University of Florida). Consensus ensures that everyone has a voice, reinforces the value of collaboration, and keeps an organization following its North Star with a shared purpose. But that’s easier said than done, particularly with a multi-generational, inclusive and diverse workforce. Blending perspectives and actively listening to viewpoints that are different can be challenging.
Roadblocks
Even with conclusive data to guide a decision, the process of achieving consensus among individuals needs rules and guardrails. The fact that individuals have different opinions, priorities, and perspectives can lead to disagreements and a lack of willingness to compromise, according to OPM (the US Office of Personnel Management). Add to that, strong personalities, power dynamics within a group, time constraints, and a lack of clear communication or understanding of the issue at hand you can hit a consensus wall. And consensus takes time. It is a deliberative process and in today’s business environment, many organizations don’t have the luxury of time to devote to extended decision-making.
OPM has identified a few key dynamics that can derail consensus.
Divergent Viewpoints: Individuals within a group may have fundamentally different opinions or interests regarding the issue, making it hard to find a solution that satisfies everyone.
Power Dynamics: Some individuals may have more influence or authority than others, leading to their opinions being prioritized over others.
Fear of Speaking Up: People might be hesitant to voice dissenting opinions due to concerns about being ostracized or perceived as disruptive.
Lack of Compromise: Individuals may be unwilling to bend on their positions, leading to stalemates and inability to reach a middle ground.
Time Constraints: The process of building consensus can be time-consuming, especially when complex issues are involved, and deadlines may prevent full discussion and agreement.
Poor Facilitation: If a group leader does not effectively manage discussions, encourage participation, or address concerns, it can impede consensus building.
A Deeper Dive into What Prevents Consensus
Our bet is there are many issues that most individuals have when they are part of a team or group tasked to make a decision, solve a problem or set a path forward.
Groupthink is dangerous when the process of hearing everyone out or relying on everyone to come to an agreement doesn’t solve the problem. The other downside of groupthink is that it encourages the group to agree on the next step, even when it may not be the right step to take. Consensus, on the other hand, respects what each individual has to share within a collaborative plan and results in inclusive thinking.
There are also cultural considerations that can blur the consensus process. We all tend to fall back on our own cultural experiences and biases. Our values, norms and behaviors come into play and infuse how we act individually in a team or group. So, when the team represents multiple cultures, there can be differences or clashes based on cultural/societal norms. On the flip side, a team from the same culture often has a shared understanding of what is and isn’t acceptable behavior in a group.
Peer pressure can inhibit raising our voices in a group setting. Will we be labeled? Will we jeopardize a future promotion? Will a manager or supervisor retaliate against us if we don’t agree? Will we set ourselves up for criticism?
Outliers who exert outsized power (strong personalities often with their own agenda) can be both useful and harmful in reaching consensus. It’s important to consider those voices, but if there is overt power positioning, a team or group can become paralyzed, and it forces the leader to take the reins to move forward.
Compromise is of course hard, particularly when anyone in a group, team or family feels passionate about a topic, what they want to do or won’t do. Compromise is often motivated by the desire to please everyone, avoid personal responsibility for the decision or just get the process over with. Compromise is not consensus.
The paradox of choice can be counterproductive and debilitating. When there are too many choices, we tend to become less focused, confused in our ability to consider each choice distinctly, and often default to making no choice.
Influencers have become ubiquitous. We seek out recommendations from others and social networks to canvas sources we trust to make a decision. This is another version of groupthink that promotes the disproportionate power of influencers who may not be qualified to weigh in on the topic.
Building Consensus
Considering all the hurdles, there are six simple guidelines to facilitate the conversation. If you have ever been on jury duty, this may sound familiar.
1. Active participation
2. Review the facts; respect the data
3. Pool opinions
4. Active listening
5. Open, non-judgmental discussion
6. Creating alignment that everyone can live with
Avoid letting the process become a debate with winners and losers. Also, the aftereffects of building consensus can be unstated resentment, a feeling that an empowered minority overruled the majority and resistance to supporting the decision.
In some cases, consensus is not the best approach to decision-making. If the issue is highly complex it may need domain experts to resolve it. Also, if there is urgency to the decision, there may not be time to build consensus.
Leadership
Consensus is not necessarily desirable for some leaders, particularly the command-and-control style of management. For those leaders, consensus can be undermining. That said, it takes enlightened leadership to steer a group to consensus. That’s the de facto role of the jury foreman. It’s also the position of the manager of a group to keep the discussion focused and productive. It requires facilitation skills to elicit ideas and opinions from team members. A leader needs to create a safe space for disagreements and alternative viewpoints. But the most important skill is to help the team stick to the facts and use any data to make an informed decision.
Mastering the Consensus Conversation
We have written about how to have complicated conversations noting that to be fair and compassionate, we need to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. By nature, we don’t listen well, may dominate conversations because we feel strongly about getting our point across, or simply don’t want to hear what others have to say. Consider as well other topics we have written about over the years on basing decisions on faulty assumptions, bad data, bad intentions, uninformed urgency, oversimplification, or being overly certain. Or where tunnel vision and wearing blinders infuse the discussion in a negative way.
Consensus is not a popular organizational strategy for decision-making, but we advocate it because it ticks off all the right boxes for an inclusive, diverse workforce. Give it a spin and let us know about your experience!
Explore this issue and all past issues on 2040’s Website or via our Substack Newsletter.
Get “The Truth about Transformation”
The 2040 construct to change and transformation. What’s the biggest reason organizations fail? They don’t honor, respect, and acknowledge the human factor.
We have compiled a playbook for organizations of all sizes to consider all the elements that comprise change and we have included some provocative case studies that illustrate how transformation can quickly derail.
Now available in paperback.