Martin Luther King said “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a moulder of consensus.”
This made me pause, because while consensus can of course be valuable; I have also seen it be misused.
One example I am sure everyone will have no doubt heard of (and sadly seen) is the classic ‘consent and evade’ behaviours where leaders smile and nod, agreeing in the room and then doing nothing (or worse) outside of it.
Another way that consensus can be used for ill, is when leaders use it to avoid the difficult conversation and to dilute decisions until they are palatable to everyone. They settle for the safest option rather than the right one. It maintains peace in the moment but delays the inevitable, the organisational equivalent of kicking the can down the road.
The key is therefore not to confuse consensus with conformity.
Leaders must not take the easy way out and simply strive to find a route where all can agree; instead, they need to listen, engage and shape the best way forward, having heard all the viewpoints, before clearly articulating the decisive way ahead.
With that in mind, take time to think:
- Do you search for the best way forward or the path people will accept? Why?
- What does consensus mean in your organisation?
- When have you secured agreement only to realise the real issue remained untouched? What does that teach you?
- How do you create conditions where people offer genuine perspectives rather than conforming to the dominant view?
- What difficult issue have you been postponing and what’s your next decisive step?
As leaders, we can show our people that we are role modelling the changes that all of us want to see. Let’s be better and be the change.
If you would like to read more articles encouraging you to think and be the change then visit https://jhcoaching.co.uk or email [email protected] if you would like to discuss.