Diversity can bring a richness in thinking into any discussion and decision-making process but only if the foundations are established first. Building these foundations requires time, effort, and thought, but often that time is not taken to establish these foundations in a rush to make decisions.

 

Active Knowledge Question:

Are you sure everyone in your team/board hold the same view of the most basic foundations of your business?

 

Consensus

I could not count the number of Board and Management team meetings I have facilitated and participated in over the decades where everyone has simply wanted to start at the end, so to say, and make decisions. Such meetings seeking decisions sidestep the disagreements, unspoken words, and non-aligned thinking between the participants. 

And many do not want to start at the beginning, so to say, as they do not want to ‘waste’ time covering matters they already know all about. They are matters where it is felt everyone understands and agrees upon the answer, or possibly worse, ones they do not wish to revisit, unearthing areas of non-agreement.

But if you were to step into the shoes of a facilitator and stand away from the discussions, you would clearly see the non-aligned thinking that is fragmenting the conversations and will undermine the impact of any decisions which may be reached.

I think we have all been in meetings where someone around that table nodded in agreement to a decision without any intent to follow through. But the challenge I am speaking to goes deeper than simple non-compliance. In many cases, what occurs is best described as ‘assumptions’ to save time. 

Each team member assumes that everyone is on the same page and agrees upon the most fundamental ‘facts’. But if you have ever played the role of facilitator and interviewed each team member individually before a joint session, you will know that this is rarely the case. And it’s not so much different priorities or agendas, but somewhat different views of the world, customer needs and the ‘business’ the business is in.

I have found that decisions are made quickly with strong consensus when time is invested in reviewing the foundations of a business before moving to the agenda item headed ‘Let’s Now Decide’. When the foundations are strongly established, and the options are considered, the decisions just tend to be clear and obvious without much debate. 

Progression

The process of removing assumptions, building foundations and providing a platform for strong consensus, seeding unity and action, is a tiered one. It progresses from the most obvious through change to learnings and insights to arrive at options. And from which clear decisions can be made.

Allow me to use a strategic planning workshop as an example, where the team is seeking to review and update their current strategy. As a simplified outline, data is provided analysing performance and the market, trends are considered, targets set, and growth plans formulated for actioning where each person has their individual thoughts on what must be done.

To pause and build consensus, you would structure the strategy session by firstly leading everyone through a series of points, building alignment and affirmation, at each step. Here is an example of the points you might step through:

• Ability:
  • What historical events have moulded who the business is today?
  • What impact do you believe these events have had on the business’s ability to compete? Where is it strong, and where is it weak? 
  • Who is the business today – describe its traits as if it were a person.
• Why:
  • For what purpose does the business exist? What needs in the community is it seeking to meet?
  • What would you say is its motive for existence?
  • Who are its customers – describe them in detail?
  • How are the lives and needs of these customers evolving and changing? 
• Competitiveness:
  • How would you describe the value the business delivers to its customers?
  • What is changing/evolving/emerging in the marketplace that may allow that value to be improved.
  • What value do our competitors deliver?
  • At what does the business excel, that is, better than anyone else?
• Growth:
  • Who does our business need to be to out-compete all others in the future?
  • What do we need to do to make this happen?

These fundamental questions affirm the most basic principles and facts about the business:

• Who are we – purpose (who)?
• Why are we here – motive (why)?
• Whose needs do we seek to fulfil – customers (where)?
• What value do we deliver, outcompeting all others, to meet our customers’ needs – positioning (how)?
• What is evolving and changing that presents opportunities – adapting?

Unity built up from the most basic foundations of a business ensures everyone views decisions from the same platform. And therefore, enables robust discussion to affirm and lock in these basics before moving into options and decisions. It ensures discussions around these basics are not lost in debates about actions while at the same time allowing everyone to speak into these basics.

 

Never assume, always affirm and reinforce the basics (who, why, where, how) before seeking any options and making decisions. Such discipline will underpin unity and delivery and bring potential to the forefront. 

 

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All the best in the success of your business,

Richard Shrapnel