[Dialogue] Decision making, consensus

[Janet Sanders]

Hello to all, I appreciate this thread and will take some new ideas into my own practice. 

A few more thoughts...

In the business I co-owned it was very helpful to understand whose decision was it.  My partner and I thought every decision should be by consensus which meant a few long blooded sessions.  We finally learned to determine which decisions we really needed a consensus on and which one we said, "This is my decision, and I would like some input". 

Voting with your feet: 

I've also appreciated an Ojibwa practice of voting with your feet.  This method has folks line up behind the candidate they are supporting.  Depending on how many folk are in the running the bottom 1 or 2 drop out.  Everyone then gets the opportunity to redecide who they will support and stand behind them.  Slowly everyone is left standing behind one person.  

Another way to do 'voting with your feet' is to pose a yes or no question and then draw a line in the room with Yes on one side, No on the other and Uncertain or Questioning in the middle.  Folks vote by standing in the spot they feel answers the questions.  You can then interview the people to see why they are standing in the spot they have chosen.  If you need to keep shaping a consensus you can have a second voting to see if you have shifted people's thinking.  

As a facilitator the other dynamic I've learned in the 'helpful pause' in the midst of a dialogue/exploration.  This helpful pause may be a break or sleeping on the issue. 

Jan Sanders

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