Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

"To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects."

I've wondered for a long time, after watching a number of groups of people work together toward consensus, if we, in the area of business leadership need to rethink this as to its value.

Now not everybody goes along with the idea of consensus, but many do.

This group think sort of thing has a lot of pitfalls to it, and as Margaret Thatcher has said, can end up being "something in which no one believes and to which no one objects." We shouldn't want to work from the lowest common denominator in business, or really anything else in life either.

One of the ways to combat this, is to make sure everyone understands that if there is consensus, it must be centered around the core values and purpose of the company. That at least keeps a balance as to its keeping in line with who we are.

This is one of the weaknesses certain types of teams end up doing. They keep working on something until everyone is in agreement. While that sounds very correct, it can be devastating to our businesses. Just look at the herd mentality connected to the recent subprime mortgage crisis to see how it can end up.

Not only did those within their own businesses get in on the stampede, but it spread to many other financial institutions as well, which is ending up costing untold billions of dollars in losses; not only for the companies, but to individuals as well.

It's one thing to compromise and make deals on small, largely irrelevant things, it's another thing to compromise on the big things for the purpose of saying we've reached a consensus. Leadership, in many ways, is being willing to go beyond consensus to make the hard decisions.

We must be willing to do that in this day and age which seems to be moving into more of a herd mentality, rather than taking individual responsibility in decision making.

Margaret Thatcher Resources:

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher Foundation

Margaret Thatcher Quotes

The Best Quotes From Margaret Thatcher's 'Statecraft'

Margaret Thatcher & the Revival of the West

Margaret Thatcher Speech

Interview with Margaret Thatcher

Magaret Thatcher's Life in the Shadows

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