An exert from Team Fusion Blog
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There are multiple methods for making a decision such as a team vote, one person decides (best used in an emergency situation), or by a subgroup of the team (such as experts). Today, I will focus on the one method most often used by teams…CONSENSUS.
What is Consensus?
• Everyone understands the decision and can explain why it is best.
• Everyone can live with the decision.
• Everyone discussed the issue and took all sides into consideration.
• Everyone expressed their current viewpoint and answered questions posed by the team.
What is NOT Consensus?
• Everyone getting what they want.
• Everyone agreeing to a compromise.
• Everyone agreeing to a unanimous vote.
Consensus Works Best When…
• Decisions are important and affects many people.
• The team has 10 or fewer members.
• The team has lots of ideas to exchange whether in person, by phone, or video conferencing.
TOP TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL CONSENSUS
1. Listen carefully. Be open and watch your assumptions about what is being said. Ask for the speakers’ reasons if you are unclear.
2. Encourage all team members to contribute. Silence does not necessarily mean the person agrees. Go around the circle and have each team member state their viewpoint.
3. Diligently search for options that meet the goals of the team. Don’t think in terms of “winning” or “losing.” When there is a disagreement, look for the next best alternative for everyone.
4. Don’t change your mind only to avoid conflict.
5. Don’t argue only for your position. Can your idea be combined with someone else’s?
6. Allow enough time to come to consensus. Here is the down-side to consensus…it takes time. Since everyone is expressing their opinion and everyone on the team needs to agree with the decision, the meeting should be long enough to give each person the opportunity to speak and ask clarifying questions.
Other than additional time, consensus requires the team to be skilled in communication, conflict resolution, facilitation, creative thinking, and open-mindedness. The up-side of coming to consensus is the high degree of trust and understanding created among the team members.
