A Common Consensus
Peggy Holman
peggy at opencirclecompany.com
Sat Aug 16 14:51:53 PDT 2008
I must admit to having little energy for consensus process, though I
have seen its remarkable power to shift a group to a new level of
understanding when people truly do listen to that one hold-out voice
who brings some very important truth into the mix. Still, I believe
Open Space, as an ongoing practice, a collective way of being,
provides a very useful alternative framework.
I think of the essence of Open Space as taking responsibility for what
you love. (As an aside, I now believe that to do so is always an act
of service, not the selfish act that some assume it would be. But
that's another conversation....)
Now, there is a major assumption in what follows, but I seem to recall
this is a going in condition for consensus process as well: that the
people involved are committed to the well-being of the system of which
they are a part.
This is primarily what I learned from Spirited Work, an Open Space
community of practice which used the four principles and the law as
its operating framework (along with Angeles Arrien's four-fold way).
In practice, those who cared about something, took responsibility to
make it happen. If, for some reason, their actions created
dissonance, the issue found its way into the marketplace and those who
cared showed up to deal with it. This happened with everything from
washing dishes to dealing with a financial deficit early in the
community's life.
I think this approach puts decision making into the flow of life, a
reminder that no decision is permanent. Those who care, act and if
something hiccups, well, then, it surfaces and those who care,
convene, reflect, and act anew.
Now all that said, when the risk goes up, perhaps because the nature
of the action is difficult to undo, then it can be challenging.
Transparency is essential so that people can step in should they
choose to do so. As groups stumble through learning to do this, I
think they develop the capacity to discern when to bring something
into a larger group for discussion, knowing that action will flow
based on taking responsibility for what one loves as an act of
service. I have experienced this sort of co-sensing on many
occasions. It seems to involve 1) understanding that a decision is a
moment in a larger unfolding and 2) radically trusting others in the
community, knowing they are taking responsibility for what they love
in service to a larger whole.
So much more to be said, but I'll end off here for now.
open-heartedly,
Peggy
______________________________
Peggy Holman
The Open Circle Company
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA 98006
425-746-6274
www.opencirclecompany.com
For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to:
www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook
"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get
burnt, is to become
the fire".
-- Drew Dellinger
On Aug 15, 2008, at 1:49 PM, Bui Petersen wrote:
> Peter,
>
> This is necessarily my favoured definition of consensus but rather
> the most thorough one that I have seen. Just meant to illustrate the
> amount of work sometimes required to reach consensus.
>
> Bui
>
> Peter Emerson wrote:
>>
>> Dear Bui,
>>
>> You propose the following definition:
>>
>> "Consensus is a group decision - which some members may not feel is
>> the best decision but which they can all live with, support, and
>> commit themselves to not undermine - arrived at without voting,
>> through a process whereby the issues are fully aired, all members
>> feel that they have been adequately heard, in which everyone has
>> equal power and responsibility, and different degrees of influence
>> by virtue of individual stubbornness or charisma are avoided, so
>> that all are satisfied with the process.”
>>
>> May I suggest a slight amendment, adding the two words ‘with or’,
>> as follows:
>>
>> "Consensus is a group decision - which some members may not feel is
>> the best decision but which they can all live with, support, and
>> commit themselves to not undermine - arrived atwith or without
>> voting, through a process whereby the issues are fully aired, all
>> members feel that they have been adequately heard, in which
>> everyone has equal power and responsibility, and different degrees
>> of influence by virtue of individual stubbornness or charisma are
>> avoided, so that all are satisfied with the process.”
>>
>> And a voting process in which “everyone has equal power” is, may I
>> further suggest (as in my original splurb), a consensus vote, a
>> multi-option preference vote, a Modified Borda Count.
>>
>> Just because some voting procedures are so dreadful – probably the
>> worst is the two-option majority vote – does not mean that all
>> voting procedures are bad.
>>
>> Peter
>>
>> Peter Emerson
>> www.deborda.org
>>
>> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
>> Harrison Owen
>> Sent: 15 August 2008 20:30
>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> Subject: Re: A Common Consensus
>>
>> I quite like what Scott Peck says, although when you read it, it
>> sounds like very hard work, something which can be achieved only
>> occasionally and under special circumstances. I wonder whether the
>> truth is rather different. Indeed I might suggest that the vast
>> majority of decisions made in any group or organization occur by
>> consensus. There is no argument, no great discussion, “it” whatever
>> it was, just seemed like the right thing to do – and that is what
>> happened. Somewhere along the line we came to the notion that
>> decision is always a matter of formal action, constrained by rules
>> and procedure. This certainly seems to be the reality in a number
>> of organizations – which I find totally claustrophobic! Probably
>> just me – but my experience is that the essence of life is
>> deciding. Most of the time it just sort of flows. But there are
>> certainly times when it gets bumpy and hard and most usually that
>> happens when I try to force things. Crazy?
>>
>> Harrison
>>
>> Harrison Owen
>> 189 Beaucaire Ave
>> Camden, ME 04843
>> 207-763-3261 (Summer)
>> 301-365-2093 (Winter)
>> Website www.openspaceworld.com
>> Personal Website www.ho-image.com
>> OSLIST To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>>
>>
>>
>> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
>> Bui Petersen
>> Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 1:46 PM
>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> Subject: Re: A Common Consensus
>>
>> I have been absent from this list for a rather long time. Life has
>> intervened again (I have just moved from Vancouver to St. John's,
>> Newfoundland) and kept me away from anything to do with Open Space.
>> But the discussion on consensus makes me come out from hiding.
>>
>> Harrison, I agree with much of what you say. However, I think the
>> difficulty with any discussion on consensus is that everybody has a
>> different interpretation of what "consensus" means. The way I see
>> it, consensus is not something you come at easily. Reaching what I
>> consider to be true consensus requires a process that gives plenty
>> of space for disagreements to be voiced. If a solution can be found
>> that everyone believes is the best and most reasonable
>> (considering the alternatives), and that everyone is willing to
>> support, that could be considered consensus. It requires a lot of
>> time and effort and is not always practical or even desirable.
>>
>> What irritates me the most is when people talk about consensus as
>> if it only means a strong majority, as in "8 out of 10 support this
>> options; it looks like we have consensus. A more common problem,
>> however, is that people suppress their disagreement in order to not
>> be seen as "difficult".
>>
>> The most thorough definition of consensus that I have come across is:
>>
>> "Consensus is a group decision - which some members may not feel is
>> the best decision but which they can all live with, support, and
>> commit themselves to not undermine - arrived at without voting,
>> through a process whereby the issues are fully aired, all members
>> feel that they have been adequately heard, in which everyone has
>> equal power and responsibility, and different degrees of influence
>> by virtue of individual stubbornness or charisma are avoided, so
>> that all are satisfied with the process. The process requires the
>> members to be emotionally present and engaged; frank in a loving,
>> mutually respectful manner; sensitive to each other; to be
>> selfless, dispassionate, and capable of emptying themselves; and
>> possessing a paradoxical awareness of both people and time,
>> including knowing when the solution is satisfactory, and that it is
>> time to stop and not re-open the discussion until such time that
>> the group determines a need for revision." [© 1988, Valley
>> Diagnostic, Medical, and Surgical Clinic, Inc. of Harlingen, Texas
>> and the Foundation for Community Encouragement, Knoxville,
>> Tennessee] (as quoted by M. Scott Peck).
>>
>> My two cents.
>>
>> Bui
>>
>> Harrison Owen wrote:
>> Peter – Tyranny by the majority is certainly a downside of
>> Democracy as practiced in my country (USA). That said, it seems to
>> me that there are circumstances where it is the preferable
>> alternative. The passage of the Civil Rights Act here in the US was
>> vociferously and often violently opposed by a very vocal minority,
>> however I would doubt that many black Americans opposed the
>> vigorous enforcement of that act, and fortunately (for the good of
>> the country) a majority of all Americans, regardless of hue, were
>> in agreement.
>>
>> Consensus politics has much to commend it, but it too has its
>> downsides. Resolution at the lowest common denominator is one such,
>> which often appears to be no resolution at all. Alternatively, the
>> whole system may simply become paralyzed. At such times, I for one
>> find myself longing for a straight up or down vote. There is also
>> such a thing a Tyranny of Consensus, I think.
>>
>> Perhaps it is useful to think in terms of both/and as opposed to
>> either/or? For example, Majority Rule, as in the case of the Civil
>> Rights act, was possible only because of a prior consensus in the
>> American Population that the Rule of Law was to be preferred even
>> if you were on the wrong side of the Law.
>>
>> I suspect that the situation is infinitely more complicated than
>> the simple alternative (Consensus/Majority Rule). My learning has
>> been that our capacity to design and implement effective systems of
>> all sorts (political, corporate, etc) is limited at best. We simply
>> cannot comprehend the infinite complexity and random occurrences
>> (essential chaos), characteristic of all living systems. Our
>> solutions are always approximations, and try as we might, we will
>> never get it “right” – and for sure we will never be in control.
>> This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t keep trying, but I think it is
>> essential that we understand the true status of our creations –
>> they are maps, and never to be confused with the territory. Like
>> all maps, some are better than others, and as conditions change
>> these maps become more or less relevant/accurate.
>>
>> We really get in trouble when we decide that there is “One Right
>> Way.” This effectively limits our options and reduces the living
>> space (open space). Pushed to extremes the system will die – which
>> is the end state of all systems, regardless. When you run out of
>> space/time you run out of life. Fortunately our maps do not create
>> the systems, and our systems are infinitely more robust than our
>> designs could ever be. Are they perfect? No. They are always on the
>> way to something new. And if they ever get “there” that will be the
>> end, I think.
>>
>> Harrison
>>
>>
>>
>> Harrison Owen
>> 189 Beaucaire Ave
>> Camden, ME 04843
>> 207-763-3261 (Summer)
>> 301-365-2093 (Winter)
>> Website www.openspaceworld.com
>> Personal Website www.ho-image.com
>> OSLIST To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>>
>>
>>
>> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
>> Peter Emerson
>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 5:21 AM
>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> Subject: Re: A Common Consensus
>>
>> Dear Jack,
>>
>> They key, then, is to ask these folks, do they believe in
>> democracy? Yes? Oh jolly good. And do they believe democracy is
>> for everybody, or just a majority? And if they agree to the
>> former, away you go.
>>
>> Mediation works only when the parties to the dispute agree to it.
>> Democracy should work for all democrats. Russians and Georgians
>> claim the adjective. But the idea that a majority can determine
>> the fate of an unwilling minority should be abhorrent… to both.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Peter
>>
>>
>> Peter Emerson
>> Director, The de Borda Institute
>> 36 Ballysillan Road
>> Belfast BT14 7QQ
>>
>> 028 90 711795
>> 078 377 17979
>>
>> pemerson at deborda.org
>> www.deborda.org
>>
>> The Borda count "is the best protection ever devised from the
>> tyranny of the majority." Professor Sir Michael Dummett.
>> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
>> Jack Martin Leith
>> Sent: 14 August
>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> Subject: Re: A Common Consensus
>>
>> Peter,
>>
>> Thanks for taking the trouble to explain the method in so much
>> detail. I've turned your post into a Word document and filed it
>> under Decision Making Methods for future reference.
>>
>> The challenge is getting people's agreement to use the method.
>>
>> Catch-22!
>>
>> Warm wishes,
>>
>> Jack
>>
>> Jack Martin Leith
>> Now-to-New activist
>> Bristol, United Kingdom
>> Mobile: 07831 840541 (+44 7831 840541)
>> Skype: jackmartinleith
>> email: jack at jackmartinleith.com
>> www.jackmartinleith.com
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