Consensus Decision-Making: Key Ingredients

We recognize that it is unlikely that governments, churches, or corporations are going to lead the way toward creating the new culture of small earth-based populations cooperating toward self-reliance and interdependence. People will need to relearn true self-governance to become empowered to implement the sustainable systems necessary for the health of life on Earth.

Consensus decision-making is the ideal form of governance for this emerging culture of cooperation, because consensus is a process for sharing power, a process in which all parties involved explicitly agree to the final decision (though each person may not believe that this is the best possible decision). Because no one group can “win” a vote and overpower those who disagree, consensus is the least violent decision-making process.

Majority-rule is sometimes called a “tyranny of the majority”; consensus eliminates this problem. However, consensus can sometimes end up being a “tyranny of the minority” unless the consensus is based on the principles of the group. This means that the group must have well-defined, written, principles – mission, goals, vision, bylaws, covenants, etc. Then, if a person attempts to block a proposal because of her own personal opinions, which are not reflected in the written principles of the group, her block will not be allowed.

Although making a decision using consensus process will certainly take more time than an autocratic decision or even a simple vote, the overall consensus process is not inherently time-consuming. This is because, when people have reasoned together and come to a decision which is intended to serve them all, they need no coercion to implement the decision. They “own” the decision.

For similar reasons, consensus works well for large groups. In a small group, all voices can be heard relatively easily, but in a large group only the loud and persistent voices will be heard [we call this “consensus by attrition”]. By using processes like delegated consensus and “spokes” models of consensus, we can efficiently include all the voices in the discussion, and just as efficiently transmit the details of the final agreed-upon decision to all the people.

How do we, as individuals and as groups, co-create a successful consensus process? First, as individuals, we need attitudes of respect, humility, and trust – attitudes which often need to be consciously developed. How do we show respect for each other? By really listening to each other, by acknowledging the emotional as well as the intellectual content of each others’ words, by disagreeing without attacking. How do we show humility? Practice this mantra: “I might be wrong.” And, dissociate yourself from proposals that you’ve worked hard to create – it’s the group’s proposal now, not your proposal.

Trust takes time, but a willingness to build trust can happen instantly, and it’s the first step. We need to be clear on what we’re trusting/distrusting about each other: Is it a person’s integrity, their intentions, their ideas, or their information? Clear communication about these different aspects is essential; a person can hear disagreement with his ideas much easier if he isn’t feeling that his integrity is being attacked. And, being allowed by the group to have a bad idea without being made “wrong” builds trust.

Along with developing cooperative attitudes, each individual needs to make a commitment to self-empowerment, and a willingness to share power, as well as an informed commitment to the consensus process – that is, a commitment to some form of consensus training.

For the group, unity of purpose is absolutely necessary for consensus to occur. If we aren’t heading in the same direction, we’ll never be able to travel together! As discussed above, a clear written statement of vision, mission, or goals is required. Assumptions are a major challenge in this process, as are flowery phrases which contain no effective guidelines.

The group needs to make a commitment to cooperation – sharing responsibility for finding solutions to all concerns, and a commitment to conflict resolution – learning to see conflicts as a desirable catalyst for discovering resolutions. The challenge is to create an environment in which disagreement can be expressed without fear; and in which objections and criticisms can be heard not as attacks but as concerns which, when resolved, will make the proposal stronger. Absolute avoidance of physical or verbal abuse, and perseverance in identifying rank and privilege in the group, are also essential commitments for the group to make.

Two keys to preparing for effective meetings are strong agendas and effective facilitation. Do not waste precious meeting time creating an agenda! Prepare the agenda before the meeting; distribute or post it. Allow specific times for each item, and allow some time for facilitator’s discretionary time [unallotted time which facilitator can add to any item, if needed].

Though there should not be one person who regularly facilitates, not everyone should facilitate. Facilitation requires a particular set of skills – articulateness, the ability to paraphrase, a good memory, a sense of humor, and especially, humility; remember that the facilitator is “servant leader” of the group.

Finally, remember that consensus requires perseverance. Good, well-thought-out decisions, which respect the needs of all, take time.

Consensus Decision-Making: Key Ingredients

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