Reaching consensus as a team can be an important task, especially when decisions and outcomes are important enough to need everyone to be on the same page going forward.
Reaching consensus can take time, and is well worth the effort when stakes are high.
One of the tools I use regularly as a facilitator, and started using years ago when I was a team leader is called dotmocracy. When solutions are complex and important it is useful to start with a brainstorm of all possible ideas. Likely many, if not dozens, of ideas may surface. Once all possibilities are on the table, provide each team member with a number of colored dots (numbers will depend on group size and number of ideas - often it is two or three dots). Each team member is invited to place a dot beside the ideas/solutions they want to rally around. This creates a very visual approach to seeing where common interest resides, and also helps to take some of the possibilities off the table.
It is likely that after one round of dotmocracy you will have a more managable number of options to explore. You may then look at forced ranking (comparing each option to itself), or perhaps do some risk analysis on each option. Key here is to consider what will help the group reach consensus, which everyone can stand behind.
What tools do you have in your toolbox for helping your team reach consensus?
For those intersted in a counter-point to this idea of Dotmocracy, here's an interesting older blog post on what doesn't work about Dotmocracy. You can read it here. If you do decide to use it, what do you need to consider?
Reaching consensus can take time, and is well worth the effort when stakes are high.
One of the tools I use regularly as a facilitator, and started using years ago when I was a team leader is called dotmocracy. When solutions are complex and important it is useful to start with a brainstorm of all possible ideas. Likely many, if not dozens, of ideas may surface. Once all possibilities are on the table, provide each team member with a number of colored dots (numbers will depend on group size and number of ideas - often it is two or three dots). Each team member is invited to place a dot beside the ideas/solutions they want to rally around. This creates a very visual approach to seeing where common interest resides, and also helps to take some of the possibilities off the table.
It is likely that after one round of dotmocracy you will have a more managable number of options to explore. You may then look at forced ranking (comparing each option to itself), or perhaps do some risk analysis on each option. Key here is to consider what will help the group reach consensus, which everyone can stand behind.
What tools do you have in your toolbox for helping your team reach consensus?
For those intersted in a counter-point to this idea of Dotmocracy, here's an interesting older blog post on what doesn't work about Dotmocracy. You can read it here. If you do decide to use it, what do you need to consider?
Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized
Join us for an upcoming Facilitation Skills Intensive program, or bring us in to deliver this program at your location.
Author of Effective Group Coaching and From One to Many: Best Practices of Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Phone: (416)996-TEAM
Potentials Realized
Join us for an upcoming Facilitation Skills Intensive program, or bring us in to deliver this program at your location.
Author of Effective Group Coaching and From One to Many: Best Practices of Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Phone: (416)996-TEAM
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