Seek Consent, Not Consensus, on Community Projects

Life rewards action. The biggest wins come when we can seize the moment and move forward quickly and efficiently. This is true in every area of life and certainly in communities seeking revitalization. If we wait too long, conditions change, new competitors emerge, needs shift, and naysayers start to gain support.

My most recent column focused on why communities struggle to get things done. It usually isn’t a lack of good ideas, support, or planning. The biggest challenges tend to lie in implementation. As we discussed, communities need the support of at least 50 percent of the people to achieve the critical mass that leads to success. Sometimes leaders can spend too much time trying to “win the unwinnable.” Because of that, they can lose time that could be spent moving the people who want to move, and that sizzle can move into a fizzle.

What this means is that, quite often, we can’t seek consensus in our decision-making. We must seek consent instead. While it’s good (and necessary) to collect input from people in a community, when we try to please everyone, we just get mired down and nothing happens.

This is a truth I saw play out every day in my work in the healthcare and business worlds, and that I still see in my current community development role. Yes, we’d all love to reach consensus, but it’s almost impossible to make everyone happy.

This is a hard lesson to learn, because most of us are pleasers by nature. Yet because people have different motives, personalities, and priorities, there will always be disagreements and resistance. This is why consensus rarely works.

The goal should always be to make the best decision that positively impacts the highest number of people as quickly as possible. This doesn’t mean being reckless. There is a sweet spot between efficient and impulsive, and the decision-maker’s job is to find it.

Here are a few things I’ve learned about making quick, smart decisions and seeking consent rather than consensus.

Bring in experts and listen to them. Many of these projects are complicated and may require expertise that you may not have in your community. There are many talented experts in areas like urban planning and community development available. I really recommend utilizing experts in the work of the project you’re looking at—like architectural planning for example—but also experts in implementation. (The implementation experts will help you execute on the expert advice.) When you do bring experts in, it’s important to listen to them. If what an expert has to say isn’t exactly in line with what a community expects or hopes to hear, they may sometimes ignore the advice.

Impose a short deadline on the decision. This will get you (and everyone else) focused and motivated. Long deadlines (or worse, open-endedness) create procrastination and second-guessing.

Solicit input from all stakeholders early on. The more perspectives you get, the better. We are often drawn to those who agree with us. Include as many groups as possible in the planning phase and in early conversations. This means more than just having every group represented at the meeting. Give them a voice and a real chance to participate in the process. This allows everyone to feel heard. All stakeholders deserve input. Plus, I find great ideas and thoughtful points of view often come from unexpected sources.

Be aboveboard and transparent. Often when people aren’t transparent, it’s more of an oversight than an intentional choice. Be careful to communicate what you are doing and why. If you or others are going to benefit in some way from a decision, say so up front. Especially when making decisions that will have an impact on the lives of our citizens, we must be careful to be transparent in all that we say and do. Justice Louis D. Brandeis famously said, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”

If you’re weighing multiple options, separate the wheat from the chaff right away. Throw out all but the very best choices immediately. Having too many options leads to analysis paralysis. Narrowing the field will speed up the process.

Don’t hold out for a “perfect” decision. There’s no such thing. You’ll never get to 100 percent.

Expect discomfort. Decision-making leads to change (unless the decision is to leave things as they are), and change brings creative tension. This is what Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, describes as the space that exists between where people are now and where they want to go. When you start feeling creative tension (or turbulence as discussed in my last column), the temptation is to back off and start lowering goals. Don’t. This is where consensus creeps in and stops your progress. Better to keep the throttle down.

Keep an open mind in the face of dissent. If someone raises a valid concern about a decision you’re trying to implement, carefully consider it. Are they right? Ask them to be specific. Do some more research. Good leaders are not afraid to change their mind when all the evidence is in. (In fact, being willing to say “I was wrong” makes you more respected.)

Don’t accept generalizations. When people are pushing back against your ideas, they say things like “a lot,” “everyone,” and “some.” Ask them to be specific. If someone says, “People are saying,” or, “Good old boys,” ask who they are talking about. Then ask, “Well, how do you feel about it?”

Stay positive and focused on the end result. It can be tough not to take things personally, but positivity matters. This is especially important for leaders as they often set the tone for the mood of the group. Giving oxygen to silly things or minor distractions creates exhaustion. This is where leaders start to fall apart. Frustration, anger, and exhaustion are all really expensive fuel.

Settle on an option that the majority of citizens can live with. Remember, community leaders need the support and goodwill of the people around them. If the opposition is overwhelming, it’s not the right decision.

Remember that some people are contrarians. As we discussed last week, around 25 percent of a community’s citizens will never agree or cooperate with any form of change, so don’t waste your time and energy trying to convince them. Instead, focus on educating, engaging, and building relationships with those who are friendlier toward your initiative.

Do a gut check. Facts and logic are good and necessary, but most decision-making is deeply rooted in emotion. Does the decision “feel” right? If not, table it for another day.

Be willing to accept the possibility of failure. Often, fear of failure paralyzes us and makes us reluctant to make decisions in the first place. Yet failure is a part of life. It’s how we learn and grow. We can always recover from a bad decision, but it’s hard to recover from an existence in which no risks are taken at all.

Stick with it. When things don’t go your way, don’t quit. Your community needs you. How you handle defeats sets the example for others.

Finally, remember that how you treat the people around you matters. Your behavior will determine the likelihood that they’ll accept your decision—even if they personally disagree with it. Treat everyone with respect, transparency, fairness, and gratitude. A community can be a very small world, and your paths may cross again. An opponent now may be a supporter later, so build bridges; don’t burn them.    

(As seen in Strong Towns)