How do you include others in your decision-making and build consensus?

Begin by understanding the challenge you want to address and the outcomes it will help enable. For example, if you're losing customers to competition, diving deeper into the issue and understanding how it impacts the business influences the next steps you need to make. It then becomes easy to identify what causes it, likely courses of action, and then.. the people you need to onboard.

Remember EMOTIONS! We all are emotional beings (with varying degrees) - it's extremely important to link the decision and its purpose to a human/ personal/ emotional level. Once we achieve this, motivation to achieve the goal will come naturally and will not have to be forced!

When I first stepped into leadership, I found decision-making to be a dance. It's a ballet of balance, blending diverse perspectives into a harmonious outcome. The first step? Clearly defining the rhythm of the decision. Is it a challenge we're tackling or an opportunity we're grabbing? One time, while orchestrating a critical decision, I discovered the power of clarity. It served as our choreography, guiding each move. Everyone felt included, their voices integral to our symphony of success. This dance of decision-making is indeed a beautiful aspect of leadership.

In my experience as a team lead, inclusiveness is a sure way to carry your team along and foster team bonding, so including them in your decision-making by seeking their opinion on a subject matter is very crucial to foster team growth and helps towards the smooth running of the team projects with less misunderstanding/conflicts.

Establishing the significance of the decision and its purpose isn't just about clarity, but also about motivation. Understanding the importance of the decision to the overall goal or mission can motivate team members to contribute their ideas and support the decision-making process. This aspect can also be a catalyst for creative thinking, pushing individuals to think outside the box to solve the problem or seize the opportunity at hand.

Inclusivity is very crucial especially when making decisions. We are all unique individually likewise in thinking and for everyone, there's surely a different view/ perception. As a lead, I embrace the open door policy where everyone's opinion is welcomed and this makes team members feel valued.

While it is vital to choose who to involve based on their expertise, experience, role, and influence, it's also crucial to consider the diversity of thoughts and opinions. Different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints can provide a broad range of insights, leading to more innovative and comprehensive decisions. This approach can also improve the inclusivity and morale of the team.

Who and How is extremely vital to avoid fatigue! We (including teams) have limited energy - focusing on the most important, most influencing, and most impacted - is crucial to ensure that the effort is well-directed and not widely distributed.

Identify relevant stakeholders who have a potential or vested interest in the decision and the ability to influence it's intended outcome, whether positive or negative. Then proactively and inquisitively seek individual stakeholder input regarding the proposed decision within a collaborative setting to reveal any perceived strengths and weaknesses in its underlying purpose and reasoning relative to its intended outcome. This ensures transparency of purpose, clarity of intent, and the mitigation of inherent human biases. Finally, build consensus around points of agreement and elicit solutions to critical points of disagreement, where time and capability permit. Avoid paralysis by analysis by imposing a deadline for the decision.

The best leaders understand that to gain buy-in and influence action, they must take a 360-degree approach to gathering information. Here is a short list of where they collect their information: 1) Their direct-report team 2) Hold skip-level conversations 3) Talk with front-line employees 4) Outside perspectives from vendors, customers, and suppliers 5) Seek ideas from mentors, sponsors, or mastermind groups Once a leader has enough information, they can start to build a strategy that speaks to the hearts and minds of the people they lead.

You build consensus when you take the time to listen to a diverse group of stakeholders. This is so important because when you do this, the chances of everyone aligning are far greater.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus." This is my motto, and I have practiced it in different work situations, from big projects to 1-hour meeting. It is very essential to be sincere in making collaborative and healthy decision-making process. But not by compromising and avoiding debates or professional discussion. Rather by bringing teams together, and allowing balanced acceptance of different perspectives, giving space to consensus to evolve. So the key concern is not in the techniques but in the intention. Consensus building has to be an objective, not just an element in the check list. So its all about listening with real intention to make consensus happens.

Embrace Constructive Dissent and Debate Consensus decision-making does not imply complete agreement or the absence of dissent. Constructive dissent and debate are crucial components of the decision-making process. Encourage participants to challenge ideas, propose alternatives, and raise concerns. By engaging in robust discussions, the group can explore different perspectives, identify potential risks, and arrive at more robust decisions.

This is not a monologue! The circular communication process is key to the success of any initiative, program, or even organization. Best way to avoid blind corners and learn from others' experiences/ mistakes.

Active listening is not just about being polite or respectful; it's also a powerful tool for unearthing valuable insights. Sometimes, the most profound insights may come from the most unexpected sources or might be hidden in between lines. Active listening can help you catch those subtle cues that can make a big difference in your decision-making process.

Evaluation and synthesis of input should not only be a systematic process but should also leave room for intuition. Although data and systematic methods are valuable, some of the best decisions also involve a level of intuition that comes from experience and tacit knowledge. Balancing analytical methods with intuitive judgment can lead to better creative decision-making outcomes.

This is the most tricky and the turning point where you have to be very cautious when you puting the situation and wisdom into synthetic barometer to exchange your thoughts to go for a particular decision.

Leaders often get to a great decision after a lot of effort, but miss building consensus around it. Data storytelling is an invaluable tool to explain decisions with information, onboard crucial support, and make it easy to action. Data stories help communicate decisions better and convince stakeholders by establishing an emotional connection.

Explaining the decision is not only about gaining acceptance but also about creating ownership. When people understand the reasoning behind a decision, they are more likely to take ownership and contribute to its successful implementation. Communication should be designed not just to inform, but to engage and inspire positive and meaningful action.

Monitoring the decision's implementation is also an opportunity for ongoing learning and adaptation. As the decision unfolds, there might be unexpected circumstances or results that require adjustments to the original plan. Rather than seeing these as failures, they should be viewed as opportunities to learn, adapt, and improve. This flexibility ensures that the decision remains relevant and effective in the dynamic environment.

Call out clear action item and timelines. .

Kept with your vision and don't forget to put the multiple suggested solution into pros and cons funnel and use logical and rational both plus your past experiences and intuitions too use the best analysis tools to help you get best solution.

Disadvantages and Challenges of Consensus Decision-Making While consensus decision-making offers numerous advantages, it is not without its challenges and potential drawbacks. It is essential to be aware of these factors to ensure that the consensus decision-making process is effective and efficient. Time-Consuming Process Difficulty in Reaching Agreement Potential for Compromised Decisions Dominance of Strong Personalities

When it comes to decision-making, I believe in the power of inclusivity and consensus-building. To include others in my decision-making process, I start by actively seeking out different opinions and perspectives. I encourage open dialogue and listen attentively to what each person has to say, valuing their input and expertise. By engaging others in meaningful discussions, we can explore various options and weigh the pros and cons together. Additionally, I am always mindful of creating a safe space where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts without fear of judgment or criticism. This helps in fostering an environment of trust and collaboration.

As a leader, I like to enable and facilitate the team to come out with options, choose one which as a team and organization is in ours and our customers' best interest, and move ahead. Once this is done, everyone in the team owns the decision and feels responsible to implement it. Self corrections come in, instead of monitoring and forced corrective measures.