Consensus-Oriented
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Benefits of Consensus Oriented Decision Making:Better Decisions
Better Process
Better Groups
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About the Author:
| Tim Hartnett is a professional group facilitator, mediator and family therapist in Santa Cruz, CA. He earned a PhD in psychology, researching methods for facilitating high conflict families in divorce. Tim then taught group process on the faculty of John F. Kennedy University. He brings his training in conflict resolution and nonviolent communication to enhance the practice of group facilitation in a variety of settings. |  |
| He is a member of the International Association of Facilitators and the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation. Tim’s work has been motivated by a lifelong interest in cooperative groups and consensus decision-making. Tim’s practice, Consensus Facilitation, can be accessed through his website: GroupFacilitation.net. | |
Advance Praise for this groundbreaking book:
“Succinct, thoughtful, and complete. So many groups (including elected officials and government agencies!) get lost in the search for consensus with the best of intentions — this guidebook shows clearly how to get to a decision in the best spirit of democracy.”
-Richard Conlin, President Seattle City Council
“Are you frustrated by that common challenge called group decision-making? Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making can help! Clearly written and well organized, keep this book by your side and refer to it often. Groups you are part of will function better as a result.”
-Peggy Holman, author, Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity and co-author, The Change Handbook
“This practical and intelligent guide to consensus-oriented decision making is a must read for people of good will who are engaged in decision-making and progress. Regardless of how much or how little you work in the decision-making space, this guide will be of immense value.”
-Fred Keeley, Former Speaker pro Tem California State Assembly
“I thoroughly enjoyed Tim Hartnett’s new book on Consensus-Oriented Decision Making in which he uses his keen insight and far reaching experience to present the reader with a truly integrative model of decision making. This book is an excellent introduction to consensus process, a valuable resource book for groups already practicing consensus who want to become more efficient and a handy reference book for professional facilitators. The content is well organized and comprehensive and the reader can’t help but be inspired by Mr Hartnett’s passion for his subject.”
-Adam Wolpert, Co-Founder Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
“Dr. Hartnett’s book shows that consensus building is both an art and a science. This is a blueprint for creating legitimate democracy.”
-Kris Jacobs, Executive Director, JOBS NOW Coalition.
“With this comprehensive yet elegantly simple guide to decision-making, Hartnett gets it right. Use this roadmap to turn ideals and ideas into lasting change.”
-Kevin Ristau, Board Chair, League of Rural Voters
“Tim Hartnett has done a fabulous job of synthesizing information in a non-dogmatic manner from a variety of fields including facilitation, mediation as well as consensus processes. The CODM methodology is an incredible resource – clearly written, easy to understand and great examples – for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge in group dynamics and facilitation. Highly recommended!”
-Shakil Choudhury, Senior Partner, Anima Leadership
“Dr. Hartnett’s comprehensive but easy-to-understand prose will be as useful in the Congress as it will be in the palaver huts of West Africa. It will become a standard text for multiparty resolution.”
-Mark Kalla, J.D. Joint Author, A House with Two Rooms, Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the Liberia Diaspora Project.
“Command and control is an archaic style of leadership in today’s business world. Dr. Hartnett`s book is a wonderfully practical guide to understanding how to apply consensus building in both your personal life and the workplace.”
-Patrick Donovan, President/CEO of Bremer Bank
“Tim Hartnett has produced a practical, balanced, and accessible guide to helping groups make decisions in a timely and effective way, using processes designed to maximize participation and ownership. This is a book that all facilitators will find useful, regardless their experience, client profile, or approach to their craft.”
-John Butcher, President, Associates in Planning Inc., Ottawa, and former Canada Regional Representative to the Board of Directors of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF).
“As a facilitator of frequent public meetings with City Councils and citizens groups, I value this book both because it puts the entire consensus-based decision-making process in a clear and concise container, and because it includes a host of real-life examples and techniques that can be put to immediate use. Tim Hartnett has created an easy-to-read, step-by-step guide that will be effective for both facilitators and participants in a host of settings.”
-David Early, Founding Principal, Design, Community & Environment, Berkeley, California
“Dr. Tim Hartnett’s contribution to the world of facilitation and conflict resolution will make a valuable addition to the library of anyone who works with or as part of a group. His Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making model covers all aspects of group decision-making and illustrates applied collaboration. The book’s theory is grounded in practice, demonstrated by down to earth examples that include group living situations, non-profit boards and work teams. In his presentation of the process and skills, Hartnett includes “shortcuts” to allow any group to adapt the model according to the nature of the group and the particular issue at hand. He also includes communication skills essential for facilitators and helpful for every group member. For “old hands” at facilitation, Hartnett provides a valuable refresher with some new wrinkles. For aspiring facilitators, he offers a definite overview and invaluable guide. And to groups seeking a cooperative approach, he bestows a must-read on applied collaboration.”
-Gary Harper, author of The Joy of Conflict.
“I am so grateful for the timely appearance of this book on our planet. It offers concrete guidance for group wisdom to emerge in decision-making that takes into account all stakeholders. The author presents a wealth of insights and suggestions in such a clear conceptual framework. I feel immediately inspired to re-vision the way I facilitate meetings!”
-Lucy Leu, co-author of NVC Toolkit for Facilitators and Nonviolent Communication Companion Workbook
“In Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making, Tim Hartnett has provided a practical and yet imaginative primer on how to approach group decision making in an inclusive way. Tim emphasizes the importance of both participation and efficiency in decision making, two potentially conflicting goals that are both honored by the CODM approach in a creative and effective way. For anyone organizing, leading, facilitating, or participating in an important group decision making process, this book provides a valuable resource.”
-Bernie Mayer, Professor, Werner Institute for Negotiation and Decision Making, Creighton University, author of Dynamics of Conflict Resolution, Beyond Neutrality, and Staying With Conflict.
“In an age often characterized by adversarial partisanship and division, Tim Hartnett’s excellent book could not have come at a more crucial time. His immensely practical process of Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making provides a framework of participatory communication, mutual respect, and facilitation steps that can strengthen any group of any size. The decisions the process produces will be built on a solid and trusted foundation.”
-Dudley Weeks, Ph.D., author of The Eight Essential Steps to Conflict Resolution
“Tim Hartnett’s book is a one-stop shop for effective collaboration. If offers a straightforward, skillful seven-step process for facilitating people with diverse views and experience to agreement on outcomes and implementation. This book goes into the top ten facilitation manuals and workbooks in my bookshelf.”
-Laurie McCann, University of California Santa Cruz campus ombuds
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Introduction:
There is always tremendous potential for people to work together well. All we need is a process that is both participatory and effective. Making decisions together is a vital part of almost any group. We may come together to form a family, to connect recreationally, to operate a business or nonprofit organization or to collaborate in some form of community project or governance. Whatever the reason for gathering, a group must somehow make decisions. These decisions determine how it will accomplish its goals. So the effectiveness of any group rests upon its ability to make decisions well.
Too often, however, a poor decision-making process spoils a group’s effectiveness. Unconscious patterns of exclusion, domination, apathy, manipulation, passive coercion or other problematic behaviors often emerge. The decisions the group makes suffer, as does the group’s enjoyment of the process.
Fortunately, the art of guiding groups through decision-making has made great progress over the past several decades. There are now ways to make decisions in groups that are both efficient and enjoyable for all participants. The Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making model (CODM) incorporates these advances into a simple, stepwise model. Work groups, organizations, social groups and even families can employ this model and reap the rewards that effective group cooperation can bring.
CODM combines the two goals of maximum participation and maximum efficiency. Group members can use this process to come up with better solutions than any individual group member could have formulated. And they can do it in a way that respects and includes everyone in the group. Increased collaboration gives participants an increased sense of ownership and a stronger commitment to effective implementation. Group members both feel good that their needs were included in the decision, and they feel a stronger investment in helping ensure the success of the decision. At the same time, however, CODM recognizes that groups need to be able to produce decisions efficiently, so as not to burden the members with long meetings or stagnant progress on popular ideas.
CODM was developed through years of personal and professional experience facilitating groups. It is based on the most successful principles and practices from the field of professional group facilitation. In addition, it draws powerful contributions from the fields of mediation and interpersonal communication. Combining the best thinking from these three different fields means CODM can help a group make better decisions in a way that simultaneously helps the group itself grow closer, stronger and more cohesive.
The CODM process can be used to generate widespread agreement in any group. Whether decisions are finalized by unanimous consent, by a vote or by the ruling of a person-in-charge, CODM can assist the process and improve the result. This flexibility makes CODM applicable in both hierarchical and egalitarian organizations. Whenever widespread agreement is the goal, CODM can be used to reach for it.
Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Principles of Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making (CODM)
Consensus and Unanimity
Participatory Decision-Making
Efficient Decision-Making
Summary
2. The CODM Facilitator Role
Group Leadership
General Qualities of Effective Facilitators
The Facilitator’s Primary Responsibilities
3. Final Decision Rules — What’s Right for Your Group?
Person-in-Charge/Executive Committee
Majority Rule
Supermajority Rule
Unanimity
What Will Work Best for Your Group?
4. CODM Process Overview — The Seven Steps
An Outline of the Steps
Step 1: Frame the Topic
Step 2: Open Discussion
Step 3: Identify Underlying Concerns
Step 4: Collaborative Proposal Development
Step 5: Choose a Direction
Step 6: Synthesize a Final Proposal
Step 7: Closure
Modifying CODM
CODM Shortcuts
Spontaneous Resolution
Summary
5. Step 1: Framing the Issue
Collect Agenda Items
Clarify the Issue
Interview a Sample of Group Members
Identify and Delegate Pre-Meeting Research
Introduce the Discussion
6. Step 2: Facilitating Open Discussion
Inspire an Open-Minded, Creative Discussion
Provide Guidelines and Structure for the Discussion
Manage the Discussion
Support Full and Varied Participation
Record Ideas
Summary
7. Step 3: Identifying Underlying Concerns
Identify Stakeholders
Identify Underlying Concerns
Gather All the Concerns
Summary
8. Step 4: Collaborative Proposal Development
Describe the Collaborative Process
Select Root Ideas to Develop
Develop the Options
Facilitate Option Development
9. Step 5: Choosing a Direction
Check for Readiness to Choose a Direction
Analyze the Proposal Options
Preference Gradient Voting
10. Step 6: Synthesizing a Final Proposal
Review Any Unsatisfied Concerns
Identify Details That Might Improve the Proposal
Select Which Details to Include in the Proposal
Compose Final Wording for the Proposal
and a Process for Deciding Unresolved Details
Improvising the Steps to a Final Proposal
11. Step 7: Closure
Apply the Group’s Final Decision Rule
Provide Empathy for Any Unsatisfied Participants
Ratify Acceptance of the Group Decision
Request Cooperation in Implementing the Decision
Dealing with Unsatisfied Group Members
Concluding the Seven Steps
12. Going For Full Agreement (Unanimity)
Conditions That Favor Unanimity
Process Tools to Reach Unanimity
Issues Arising from Consensus Blocking and Required Unanimity
When Should a Group Require Unanimity?
Summary
Resources for Facilitators
Appendix: CODM Crib Sheet
Notes
Index
About the Author
Sales from this site in USA only. For sales outside the USA please contact the publisher or your favorite local or internet book seller.
Purchase the book with Paypal. This button will send you to log in to your paypal account where you can input your address and payment type: