Space of Love

Decision-making

Nb to build leadership skills within the group. Need a balance between leadership and participation. Extreme case of leadership = dictator. If there is more participation and no leadership, decisions can take a long time. In Findhorn and Rainbow Gathering style, the “leader” is called the “focaliser” and holds the focus of the group.

 

Consensus Decision Making

by Beatrice Briggs

(For full manual write to briggsbea@aol.com)

The consensus process is a decision-making method based on values such as cooperation, trust, honesty, creativity, equality and respect. These days many people use the word «consensus», but very few understand how to implement the process with integrity and skill. Consensus goes beyond majority rule. It replaces traditional styles of «topdown» leadership with a model of shared power and responsibility. A group which uses the consensus process effectively can become a healthy community and a powerful force for social change.

 

Consensus: A Process for Sharing
Power and Constructing Community

To build a healthy community, the questions “Who decides?” or “How will we decide?” must be answered. Making clear choices about the fundamental issues of power and process can transform a diverse group of people into a strong, stable, loving community. Today more and more people are disillusioned with “top-down” structures in which a powerful few make decisions for everyone. Even the democratic ideal of majority rule is found wanting because it almost always results in a disempowered minority. All over the world people are seeking ways to discuss and resolve common problems and build a future for their children which is both ecologically sound and socially just. The decision-making process which best supports this intention is called consensus.

Consensus is the way a group of equals makes decisions. The process rests on the fundamental belief that each person has a piece of the truth. Each member of the group, therefore, must be given space and time in which to speak his or her truth, and each must be listened to with respect. On the other hand, individuals cannot be permitted to dominate the group. In consensus, as in ecosystems, each individual rules and is ruled by the larger community. In this web of reciprocal relationships, the beauty and strength of the whole is created. This is not to suggest, however, that consensus process presupposes, or automatically confers, complete peace and harmony within a group. Given the depth of our current social pathology and the complexity of the decisions we face, conflict is inevitable.

In fact, in groups that are truly diverse, differences are both a sign of health and an invitation to creativity. Non-violent resolution of conflict and the collaborative development of decisions that everyone in the group can support are the principle goals of the consensus process.

 

Five Essential Elements

Consensus is not a panacea. It will not work in every situation. In order to invoke the power and magic of consensus, five main elements must be in place:

(1) Willingness to share power

(2) Informed commitment to the consensus process

(3) Common purpose

(4) Strong agendas

(5) Effective facilitation.