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Building Consensus

Building Consensus. Creating Alliances through Collaborative Problem Solving. Dr. Melanie Billings-Yun. Creating a Cooperative Alliance. Inspiring them with a vision of change that is beyond any one party’s power to bring about individually;

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Building Consensus

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  1. Building Consensus Creating Alliances through Collaborative Problem Solving Dr. Melanie Billings-Yun

  2. Creating a Cooperative Alliance • Inspiring them with a vision of change that is beyond any one party’s power to bring about individually; • Convincing them that the other collaborators are vital to the effort and equal to the challenge; • Preventing any one party from benefiting so much that others feel exploited. Consensus-building aims to align people/groups with different interests, by:

  3. Collaborative Problem-Solving Means: • All involved must contribute to the decision-making process and concur with the solution; • Everyone does not have to think the final decision is the best possible solution… • But all support it as reasonable and fair; • No one feels that his/her fundamental interests have been neglected or compromised.

  4. Why Collaborative Problem-Solving? • Broader input helps you create value • Reduces tension and builds trust • Aligns forces to common purpose • Improves chances of success When you make decisions by consensus and let all the disagreements get expressed, you make better decisions. If you don’t do that, there’s a natural tendency on the part of whoever didn’t get their way to want to be proved right that is wasn’t going to work. ─John Mackey, Co-founder and CEO, Whole Foods Market

  5. When Consensus Is Needed…or Not MOST USEFUL when… • Stakeholders have the ability to block implementation • You wish to encourage group accountability • You do not understand the cause of problems • Decisions are controversial or emotional • You have made a commitment to be consultative LEAST USEFUL when… • It’s an emergency in which swift action is necessary • It involves the day-to-day handling of your job

  6. Planning the Meeting:First Determine… • Who should attend? • At least one person from each participating unit • At least one decision-maker and subject expert • What are your desired outcomes? • What needs to be covered in the agenda? • Who should run the meeting?

  7. Planning: Involve All Relevant Stakeholders • Necessary decision-makers • Those with relevant information or expertise • Those who need to receive information • Those directly involved in the issue • Those who have a stake in the outcome • Those with the power to block a decision

  8. Planning:Role of the Leader • The leader keeps the meeting on track: • Gets agreement on agenda and processes • Conducts the meeting according to rules • Guides the discussion • Encourages participation • Handles conflict / problems productively • Builds consensus • Ensures decisions are made and implemented

  9. Qualities of an Ideal Consensus-Builder Authority Courtesy Discipline Focus on Process Empathy Flexibility Impartiality

  10. Planning Exercise • Read Collaboration Challenge 1. You are planning a meeting to resolve this impasse. Discuss the following: • What are your desired outcomes? • Who should attend? • Who would be the best facilitator? • What issues need to be addressed?

  11. Managing:Develop an Agenda • First determine: • How long can the participants set aside? • What needs to be resolved? • Adjust time or number of topics accordingly • Get everyone to contribute to the agenda • Make it open and neutral • Put easy items at the top of the agenda • Avoid putting controversial items together

  12. We need to discuss the division of work in the office to ensure it is fair to all parties. Be Clear and Impartial • Blaming • Biased • Unclear Approaches to Avoid I want to rearrange the unfair work schedule that’s dumping all the worst jobs on my team. We need to resolve how we can work together to implement the new work schedule I’ve developed. I have heard some grumbling (I ‘m not in a position to say by whom) regarding the apportionment of certain work assignments—nothing specific of course.

  13. Managing:Set Ground Rules When one talks the rest must listen. • Explain why you need ground rules • Makes the group more efficient • Ensures all voices get heard • Keeps disagreements productive • Facilitator lists 2-3 rules • Can be non-negotiable • But give reasons for each • Invites others to propose additions or modifications • Group discusses and reaches consensus • Make rules visible Attack problems only, not people. Everyone stays on the same step together.

  14. Managing Exercise • Read Collaboration Challenge 2. You want to get maximum input and listening from everyone. How can you use the agenda and ground rules to: • Encourage Jay to contribute? • Manage the way he presents so that it is more effectively received? • Control Sri without making her lose face or reduce her enthusiasm? • Get others to stay engaged and contribute more?

  15. Communicating:Reframe Conflict into Shared Goals So do we get the top-of-the-line system that you always ask for or a system we can actually afford? It seems that IT cares most about after-sales service. While purchasing shares that interest, we are primarily concerned with staying within the budget. So let’s set our goal at finding a solution that addresses both service and cost. Move from “either/or” to “both/and.”

  16. Communicating:Use positive language There’s no way we’ll have all the data by next week! We’ll have the data for three of the five divisions by next week. We’re only half-way through the agenda! We’re already half-way through the agenda!

  17. Communicating:Encourage Problem-Solving What’s wrong with the current system? If everything were working as you wanted, what would be happening? What changes could you suggest to bring the system to that level?

  18. Communicating:Don’t Tell; Help Them to See. I can see the advantages of that idea, but let’s consider some of the possible repercussions. That won’t work! You have to do this. Let’s go through the pros and cons of the various options .

  19. Communicating:Respond to Resistance Productively You’re not being very cooperative. Do you have a problem ? I felt we had an excellent session last time, but since then we’ve fallen behind on the timelines we set. Has something come up? How do you think we should change our procedures so we can make the deadline?

  20. Communication Exercise • Read Facilitation Challenge 3. You are facilitating the meeting to organize the retreat. • What techniques would you use to manage the conflict? • What language would help calm the atmosphere? • How would you refocus everyone onto the goal? • What would you do if the two sides refuse to cooperate?

  21. Concluding the Meeting • Summarize decisions • Review follow-up actions • Allocate actions to achieve all agreements to persons or units present at the meeting • Establish deadlines for each action • Thank everyone for contributing

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