Consensus Through Conversations: How to Achieve High-Commitment Decisions

The New Rules of Decision-Making You think that because you understand ONE, you understand TWO because one and one make two. But you must understand AND. —Sufi Proverb For today’s leaders, understanding AND means discovering the power of putting the right people in the same room at the right moment for the right conversation. Understanding AND means recognizing that there are times when you gain influence, credibility and commitment by including others in critical decisions. Understanding AND means embracing the idea that multiple, often conflicting perspectives can be creatively combined into breakthrough solutions. 2 AND is about inclusive leadership—the art of bringing diverse voices to the table and seeing what can be learned and accomplished. In the past, a more inclusive way of leading and making decisions was a philosophical choice. Today, it is a business imperative. In every corner of organizational life, collective decision-making has become the rule rather than the exception. Let’s look at some of the reasons why this is becoming truer each day. Hierarchical organizations are giving way to flat networks. The “leader as brain, employees as body” model of organizations is obsolete. Leaders recognize that in today’s complex and changing environment, one person rarely has a corner on the knowledge and judgment market. Technology has put information in the hands of the people who need it most—particularly those on the front lines. Well-informed decisions must include the perspective of those with first-hand experience. The issues organizations and communities face are increasingly complex. The only way to navigate complexity is to test the implications and impacts of our solutions by drawing on a wide range of resources and perspectives. When we fail to involve the right stakeholders, we often create problems that are more significant than the original problem we were trying to address. A new generation of knowledge workers are voting with their feet. They want to be included. They want to influence decisions that impact their work. If they can’t, they take their skills and knowledge and go elsewhere. The ability to implement a decision quickly is as important as agility in making the decision. Fast implementation is determined by the extent to which people understand and support the decision. Participation accelerates execution. Given the foregoing trends, consensus has become a more and more common approach to decision-making in organizations. As you move toward more inclusive leadership, consensus is one of those strategic tools that you will want to have in your repertoire.