Getting to ConsensusLearn Management Articles on management-info.biz. Getting to Consensus article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Let’s think of it as getting to consensus, to roll a bunch of similar issues into one ball. Further, let’s think of getting to consensus as a process. That is, something that happens as the result of a series of deliberate actions on our part. We start the process by analyzing the current situation - how far from consensus do we now stand? Do we have embittered, untrusting people in the group? Or are we at the other end of the spectrum, with everyone nearly in agreement? We’ll call this the diagnostic stage. That means we have to listen, rather than talk. Sure, we’re probably anxious to get going and to convert them to our way of thinking right away. But, before that we need to let them talk, and we need to hear them. That means our listening has to be real and focused. No preparing responses or rebuttals while the other person speaks, just listening and absorbing what they say, both explicitly and implicitly (through body language, for example). After we complete our diagnosis, we get our turn to talk or otherwise communicate. If the people with whom we want consensus are generally hostile or unwilling to listen, we’ll either need to be very patient or prepared to shock them. Shocking means challenging, confronting their assumptions and the status quo. On the other hand, if everyone pretty much agrees with us already, we’ll approach them much more softly. In other words, we won’t rock the boat much. A key ingredient of our communication will be to explain what’s in it for them. Obviously, we see the benefits of consensus, for ourselves and for them. But, do they see the beneficial consequences? The need to explain the benefits is often overlooked in our rush to communicate. Let’s lay out the advantages and the disadvantages for them clearly. And, yes, tell them about the disadvantages as well as the advantages. By doing so, we’ll increase our credibility. We might even learn something by writing the advantages on one side of a page and the disadvantages on the other. After we’ve made our case, we’ll try to stimulate feedback. Try to get a sense of how our message was received and what response it got. Did they respond the way we expected? Did a consensus begin to emerge? If not, we need to start the process over again, with a new diagnosis. And, we’ll basically reiterate the process. But, this time, put even more time into, and emphasis on, their assumptions and expectations. If the process doesn’t work, it’s because they didn’t find enough benefits in our earlier communication. In the end, consensus is always about them. And, to get them to go along with our plans for change, we need to be as conscious of their needs as we are of our own. Summarizing, think of consensus as the end point of a process, rather than something we can immediately organize. That process starts with analysis and listening, then responds to what we heard in the listening phase. Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott's Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or by subscribing to this newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at: http://www.communication-newsletter.com
|
More Articles:1. Time Management Isn't About Managing Your Time, It's Getting Control of You Do you start off a day with the idea of getting certain things done and by the end of the day you haven't even gotten to the things you wanted done? Then you should be working on getting control of you, getting control of how you manage you. What is getting in your way, getting between you and those things you intended to do? Is it easier to do things that are easier or more fun first? You look up at the clock and it is break time, so you go take a break, grumbling that you didn't get to the thi… Causes Bags Under Eyes 2. Building High Performance Teams Your managerial success is tied to your team. Teams are the most valuable resource of an organization. The times of lone leadership are over with Alexander the Great. These are the times of the team leadership. If you can build a successful team and work as the leader who is just a little more equal than others you may be able to pull off everything you do with great success. Successful team building requires a lot of focus and effort. Here are a few tips to build teams that are effective and de… 3. Employee Retention: Five Leadership Fundamentals By Marcia Zidle Are your management practices on the right track? Retaining your valued or high performing employees must be a strategic issue for your company. Throwing more money at your workers is not the answer and can become very costly. The more effective way to retain top talent is to address their important needs.Universal Truths: Most people are content being paid at or around the market rate for good quality work. SOME folks are extremely money conscious, but eventually they learn that the payc… 4. Innovation Management – Innovation or Profit? By Kal Bishop Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development … |
||||
