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John Engle [ Profil ] |
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Re: [wbyoh] Extending Consensus Building Discussion
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Jul 19th, 2007 - 20:16:06 |
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Hi Everyone.
Memories of the couple days we spent together put a smile on my face.
I've not followed the discussions that closely. But, I have been encouraged to see that people are staying in touch. This Taking It Global list serve is perfect for helping to facilitate this.
It's nearly 15 years ago that my colleague and I, with the support of two groups of people, one in US and one in Haiti, formed a US-based non-profit and a Port-au-Prince-based Haitian Foundation. The two supportive groups agreed to serve as boards of directors.
One thing that made this whole endeavor unique was our intention to experiment with a non-hierarchical structure at a staff level and to make decisions by consensus. To this day, I continue to be involved with both of these organizations and decisions are still made by consensus. While both organizations are small, they are both thriving. In fact, US-based Beyond Borders recently made it to World Blu's list of "Most Democratic Workplaces."
I believe in the consensus process for lots of reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity for personal growth it affords the individuals involved. In addition, it's a way to foster engagement among all involved. I also have found it to be incredibly draining at different times.
For me, the challenge is to get clear about decisions that require consensus AND to make sure that the people who have primary responsibility for carrying out decisions have greater influence in the decisions than those who are merely giving their perspective.
My experience with consensus-building has convinced me that things will go more smoothly if everyone agrees that consensus does not mean that everyone has to totally agree with something in order for it to pass. There might be a decision that I am not wild about but I will allow to pass for one or several reasons. Examples: 1) I don't feel passionately against it, 2) I am taking very little if any responsibility for executing the decision 3) I have trust in the people or person who do feel strongly about the decision they're pushing for and believe that they will effectively assume responsibility for execution.
As for having to depend on a mediator or facilitator, it sounds good in principle but I don't believe it's the ideal. First of all, it could get expensive. And, it can create a sense of dependency. I believe that the ideal is for groups to evolve in such a way that allows them to find their own path in the consensus process and to not have to rely on an external "expert."
Finally, the less people involved in final decisions the less time-consuming. I like when larger groups empower smaller groups to get work done and to make decisions. Part of the smaller group's first responsibility might be to design an inclusive process for making a decision--a process that the larger group agrees to. Once there is agreement on an inclusive process, the smaller group simply works to make sure the process is respected.
There's my 2 cents ; )
Best to all of you,
John Engle
Dear All,
Given the topic, I would like to propose that we extend this week's discussion
by one more week to enable more people to participate.
Please share your thoughts and experiences in building consensus.
All the best,
Mitty
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www.johnengle.net Open space facilitation
www.circlesofchange.com Participatory learning and leadership
www.harvesttime.cc Harvesting for justice that all may have enough
Email: john (at) johnengle.net
Cell: 202-236-6532
Home office: 772-539-7071
Fax: 202-449-8343
John Engle
P.O. Box 2576
Vero Beach, FL 32961
Skype: englejohn
Haiti Telephone: (011 first when dialing from US) 509-461-3067
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