As a Quaker, the consensus process has long been familiar to me. At my high school, consensus was used for major decisions, and I became familiar with the rhythm of the sometimes-lengthy discussions. As I built a career in the nonprofit world, many people laughed when they learned I serve on a board that uses consensus for significant decisions. People imagine that it’s slow (it is!) and impossibly inefficient (it is not.). 

For the last few months, I’ve been working with the search committee, a group of eleven individuals - members of the Board of Trustees at the William Penn Charter School - to recommend the appropriate candidate to serve as our next Head of School. Once consensus has been achieved on the recommendation, the entire Board of Trustees must reach consensus approving the recommendation. The process is slow. But, once again, I’m reminded that consensus is a powerful - and, perhaps, the best available - decision making process for key, organizational decisions.

Consensus forces participants to do three things:

• Listen. In voting, the majority rules, leaving some to feel disappointed and unheard. But, in consensus, individuals must really listen. They must work to understand the opinions and values of others to eventually speak in a single voice.
  

• Seek areas of agreement. While we’re so quick to be critical, consensus forces participants to seek areas of agreement. It’s inherent that we are moved to seek areas of shared opinions and values rather than quickly moving to debate differences.
  

• Stay anchored to intentions. For an entire group to come to consensus, we must remain anchored to the group’s goals and intentions. What are we trying to accomplish? And, if the conversation causes those intentions to shift, that gets named and discussed.
  

In recent weeks, I’ve spent many hours involved in deep, sometimes challenging discussions with fellow search committee members. But, in the end, we have developed a shared understanding of our goals. And, each member has been given the chance to do their best thinking out loud and with the group. Very little remains unspoken. We’ve learned together that being aligned is far more important than feeling right. And, in the end, we all emerge more excited about and committed to the decisions we make.

Consensus is a Quaker process - a part of my chosen faith. But, for the most important decisions you or your organization face, you might want to consider its use. You’ll find that it helps to develop a more aligned team, a clearer vision, and stronger commitment to the outcome of the decision making process. For these reasons, despite the intense commitment it required, I will leave this process excited and inspired by the outcome.