16 Consensus

Consensus is general agreement among the members of a given group or community, each of which exercises some discretion in decision-making and follow-up action. In the context of project management, consensus is an agreement among the interested parties—including team leaders, customers, stakeholders, and subcontractors—that a certain direction or action is acceptable to every individual in the group.

The Sin

Achieving consensus is perhaps the strongest impediment to innovative problem solving, risk management, and addressing project challenges. Since people have varying degrees of risk aversion, getting the last person to agree on a course of action means that the action is the least risky or least uncertain of all the options available. Adopting the most conservative approach—one that is acceptable to all—may result in an overly long schedule, excessively high estimated costs (see excess), and the avoidance of new methods, technologies, or processes.

Consensus is useful in planning a project; all team members must have some belief that the work can be completed within the time and funds allocated and with the technology to be used. Yet during execution, reaching consensus can waste precious time and resources. Problem solving and the emergence of new information require quick and decisive changes to the plan. These decisions must be made and implemented quickly, with limited debate, so the project can move forward in the new direction expeditiously.

Sometimes, consensus is used to avoid accountability. When a decision is made by consensus, there is no one to hold accountable: “I just went along with the group” is a common excuse. As Margaret Thatcher said, “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.”

Consensus can also erode the project manager’s authority to lead the project (see no authority). In striving for consensus, the project manager becomes a facilitator rather than a decision-maker. The project manager forfeits the ability to make a decision based on his own risk tolerance, understanding of the issue, willingness to act, and willingness to assume the risk and be held accountable.

Nonetheless, it is important to remember that each team member is an expert in her own area, and collectively, the team has more knowledge than the project manager could possibly have. The final decision does not have to be the project manager’s idea, only the best of those offered, with some rationale for its choice. As Martin Luther King said, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

A Case of Consensus

The development of a real-time data acquisition system was planned to include five releases, or builds, with defined capabilities and scheduled release dates. The planning was done with the consensus of all the project’s team leaders. Then we went into project execution. By the time we got to the third build, it was clear that this build’s requirements would not be met by the planned release date. The original planning team held several meetings to address the problems we were encountering, but could not come up with workable solutions.

Once the discussion shifted from problem solving to considering which features could be deferred to later builds, the group quickly reached consensus. All agreed that the build should be released on schedule. (After all, billing milestones were at stake!)

Unfortunately, this action just pushed the most difficult work into future builds, which were already complex. As the project’s progress continued to erode, it became clear that the bow wave of work ahead would mean further delays, budget overruns, and disappointed stakeholders.

In hindsight, the project manager should have reminded the team that they had reached consensus in planning the contents of the builds—and that the approach they agreed on originally was still the correct approach. The project manager should have made the decision to delay the build’s release so that all the planned features could be included. This would have kept the scope of the future builds unchanged.

Danger Signs

The danger signs that consensus may be compromising your project include:

1.A lack of leadership skills in the project manager. A project manager should motivate others to follow her lead based on the belief that the project manager has the knowledge to set the course and that the project manager, not the project team, will be held accountable for decisions.

A project manager who seeks consensus rather than leading is abdicating responsibility and accountability. Instead, the project manager should be ready and willing to be the only one held accountable for the entire project.

2.A project team that insists on being involved in every decision. Opinions are like belly buttons—everyone has one. But this does not mean they need a forum to express their opinion in any area but their own. Research shows that people know less about most subjects than they think they know, and that others think these people know more than they actually do. Accordingly, a lot of debate is required to reach consensus among a group of partially informed participants. While a project manager may not have all the knowledge, as the leader he should be prepared to interview the experts, make a decision, and assume the risk of the outcome.

Solutions

Take ownership of the project. Surround yourself with six to eight of the smartest people you can find. Ask questions, get ideas, and listen. Analyze what you have learned, address the issue, and make a decision. Require the team to follow your decision regardless of dissent and remind the team members that you are ultimately responsible for the project—and they are responsible for following your lead and direction. Your reward is based on a successful project; theirs is based on their area of expertise and following your direction.

Hold your meetings with a limited number of invitees for the purpose of asking questions and getting ideas. Avoid emailing all project members to solicit their ideas. Pick and choose your core team. Limit distribution of material to those whose thoughts you are soliciting, but don’t just pick “yes” people—get a diversity of opinions.

Tips for Keeping Consensus from Destroying Your Project

As project manager, establish yourself as a leader, not a manager, and take ownership of the outcome of the project.

Make it clear to project team members that they must be willing to follow the project manager’s direction, knowing that their success is defined by their ability to meet that direction.