Managers know it is good to involve others when certain decisions are being made. In these cases, the benefits of deploying collective wisdom and the advantages of buy-in are evident. Such conditions facilitate subsequent implementation. So why do superiors often choose to decide by themselves? The management.about.com website has answered that question and proposed a possible solution.
Common obstacles
Sometimes managers just do not think the opinions of other people are valuable. Sometimes this is a sign of arrogance but occasionally the managers are true visionaries who really do know best. The second reason for such behaviour is that the situation may be urgent and a decision needs to be made very quickly, with no time to discuss matters with other people. The third common reason is that managers do not know how to involve others in a productive way.
Consensus produces decisions the team identifies with
It is not necessary that everyone agrees 100% with the decision. It is sufficient that everyone has had their say: their opinion has been heard and thus they are committed to the final decision. If one person disagrees and is blocking further progress, the decision will have to be made by the majority or even by the manager her-/himself: this, however, is a backup solution and should be used only rarely.
Consensus building in 7 steps
1. Frame the issue, agree on what is to be decided.
2. Brainstorm and write all alternatives on a flipchart.
3. Allow participants some time to clarify their suggestions.
4. Let them select alternatives for consideration. (An optimal number is the total number of all suggestions divided by three.)
5. Go through all the suggestions and ask whether you should erase them or leave them in place. First ask about the alternatives with most votes. If someone strongly disagrees, let them make their case.
6. Where appropriate, suggest combining two or more ideas.
7. Summarise the final decision (or multiple alternatives) and divide the tasks. Once you have arrived at a true consensus, people will be eager to have their tasks assigned.
-jk-