THE CALAMITIES OF CONSENSUS

By Parvathy G, P40031 – section A, PRM40

 Yes. Whenever group work is required to form decisions, consensus plays an integral
role in cooperation and timely delivery. Any group work would ideally involve all the
members’ participation and it is essential to get them onboard with respect to the
outcomes to be achieved. But there should be someone driving the discussion.
Otherwise, people can stick to their personal choices and delay the decision or affect
the well-being of group. A group consensus might mean that only majority of members
agree with the decision and not all. However, the team as a whole would be able to
justify to everyone as to why the decision was made and how majority can only resolve
such conflicts. Without consensus, in scenarios where just a few stakeholders are
involved in the process, others would be inclined to feel that their opinions are not
valued.

 When I was part of a team that had the responsibility to organise a competition for the
children that we taught English to, the entire team initially had ideas that were poles
apart. But, we made sure not to implement any idea directly just because it belonged to
the team leader or an experienced team member. The entire team came up with the main
areas that they want to test the ability of children on. We discussed them and eliminated
a few after several clarifications. This helped us collectively decide the best
competitions for the kids.

 A leader after thorough discussions must be able to judge a right course of action for
the team. He must be able to filter, from all the suggestions, objectives that are crucial
to the company. But, majority of his team might still be inclined to some other option.
Martin Luther King wanted to highlight that a true leader would be the one who can
build consensus by throwing light on the rationale and actual reasons to be prioritized
and then arriving at a decision.
Yes. If a leader can get the team to visualise the company’s needs before personal
inclinations and then try to get opinions of majority of people, he can make sure they
are moving ahead in the right decision. In scenarios involving high risks, it is essential
for a leader to stress on significance of company motives. This does not mean that he
is imposing his own opinions forcefully on the team. The leader is trying to get the team
to see another side of this. He will eventually get everyone’s opinion.