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Articles | Building Consensus the Easy Way

Building Consensus the Easy Way

Consensus decision-making has the reputation of being very time-consuming. It needn't be if the following steps are carefully followed. The failure of most supposed consensus procedures occur with the failure to ask objectors to a proposed decision if they are willing to proactively help make the proposition work even though they are not in full agreement with it (step 6).

  1. Generate and explore options regarding the decision to be made. Be sure that everyone has the opportunity to fully be heard.
  2. Notice when most of the group seems to be leaning toward a particular option.
  3. State the option as a proposed decision.
  4. Check with each person in turn whether or not they are in favor of the proposed decision. (If the proposition is not a particularly controversial one, simply ask for a show of hands regarding who is in favor and who is not in favor of the proposed decision.)
  5. Ask each person not in favor to fully state the reasons for their opposition. This is very important!
  6. After each statement, ask that person if s/he are willing to proactively help make the proposition work even though they are not in full agreement with it
  7. If a person feels strongly enough about their objections not to be willing to help make the proposed decision work, ask the group to further consider those objections. This is rare, but it happens.
  8. Repeat 1 to 7 until consensus is reached.