Consensus

Cohousing Topics

Below are all of the blog entries, articles, and descriptions of past and future events on our website related to Consensus. Can't find something? Let us know

For more information, head over to our resource center.

Process Consultant: Tim Hartnett, Ph.D.

in

Tim Hartnett, PhD
Phone: 831-464-2922
email: tim [at] timhartnett [dot] com

When can I Object?

Submitted by Sharon Villines on Sun, 01/01/2012 - 15:25

in

By Sharon Villines

When can I object? Should I ever object if I want to support my community?

The whole process of reaching consensus is one of resolving objections. Initially, what would be called objections later in the process are called problems or needs or desires. That's why decisions arise — someone objects to the status quo. I object to extension cords being left on the counter in the dining room so I propose they be kept in the drawer underneath.

Objections are not vetoes. There is no big inky brush that you use to make your big sloppy X on the face of a proposal thus relegating it to the ash pile. Objections are good because in resolving them the proposed action is improved to address the needs of all members. This builds a stronger community.

A Guide to Consensus Meetings, Manzanita Village in Prescott, AZ

Submitted by catya on Tue, 10/25/2011 - 10:02

in

By Mary Ann Clark

The culture of consensus is different from the decision-making model most of us have used because the goal is for all participants to consent to the decisions of the group rather than decide by majority rule.

The facilitator plays a major role in integrating the contributions of all members present. By searching for strands of possible agreement, the group members are contributors in the effort to weave together everyone's unique contribution.

To accomplish this goal, facilitators and participants can find a win/win outcome by:

Being agreement-biased and looking for possible bridges and interconnections between seemingly divergent opinions and approaches.
Maintaining neutrality around charged issues and engaging in a fair discussion of the issues regardless of personal feelings on the topic.

catya's blog
Login or register to post comments
Read more

A Make-You-Smile Tale of Consensus for the Holidays

Submitted by Diana Leafe Chr... on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 11:49

in

By Diana Leafe Christian

This is a story told by cohouser and consensus facilitator Evan Richardson, who lives at Westwood Cohousing in Asheville, North Carolina. Evan coordinates Laird Schaub and Ma’ikwe Ludwig's IFP-Southeast, their two-year facilitation training held quarterly at various cohousing communities and other intentional communities in the Southeastern states, (IFP trainings are held in the Mid-Atlantic states and other regions too.) Evan shared this story with trainees in the IFP-Southeast program.

Evan’s daughter Lila and other 8, 9, and 10-year-olds at Westwood Cohousing began gathering in May, 2008, for a twice-monthly meeting to solve problems, share appreciations, and discuss plans for fun things to do. Generally Even or two other adults facilitate the circle, with the kids setting the agenda.

A Consensus Modification: the Four-Choice Method

Submitted by Diana Leafe Chr... on Sat, 05/02/2009 - 16:26

in

Diana Leafe Christian

A few years ago Ecovillage Sieben Linden near Poppau, Germany replaced their consensus process with a new method they developed. It wasn’t because people blocked too much, but because they didn’t! And while Sieben Linden is not cohousing, their method is so interesting I wanted to share it with you.

According to Sieben Linden member Kosha Anja Joubert, too many people were silent when they didn't like a proposal because they didn’t want to stop others from having what they wanted. “Lukewarm” is how she describes their consensus decisions. “We developed a wish for more outspokenness and clarity,” she wrote in Beyond You and Me (Permanent Publications, 2007), the GEN/Gaia Education book on the social aspects of ecovillages.

At Sieben Linden, two-thirds of the members must choose "fully positive” for a proposal to pass.

2009 Featured Process Consultants

in

On June 24-28, 2009, our Annual National Cohousing Conference will feature a number of Top Cohousing Process Consultants - some very well-known, established consultants with years of experience with facilitation, consensus training, and group process consultations and numerous Cohousing Communities - and some who's emerging practices are generating new ways of thinking about group decision making.

Those who attend the 2009 conference have the opportunity to enjoy and learn with...

Read more

Why We Need to Trust Each Other If We Use Consensus

Submitted by Diana Leafe Chr... on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 09:13

in

By Diana Leafe Christian

“I trust everyone here,” one of my friends told a new member at Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina, where I live.

“Well, there are people here I don’t trust,” the new member replied with some heat.

The new member had been trained in our consensus decision-making process. Yet soon after becoming a full member she told us that she didn’t trust one of our committees, and — Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! — blocked six times.

This was a useful, though painful, educational process for our community. What had we failed to adequately convey to her in our required consensus training? And why do we assume that new people entering into our decision-making process will automatically trust the community, trust the consensus process, and trust our self-governance process?

Not Her Fault, Her Type

in

In principle, we each have a personality type, hardwired into us, not likely to change. There are many methods of assessing personality types, Myers-Briggs the most famous among them. Most assessments consist of a written test that reveals one's basic
type. Categorizing people into four basic types has been going on since 400BC. Hippocrates called them the four temperaments. In medieval times they were called the four cardinal humors.
With a certain personality type come certain personality traits. Our type has to do with how we learn, how we act, how we perceive others and the world, and how some abilities come naturally to us and some don't.
Practical Tip: To help make good group decisions, keep in mind that people are different, not everyone is good at everything, and others see things differently than you, instinctively. When someone does not do something the way you would do it, figure it is not his intention to be difficult, he is just different.

Read more

Pose Alternatives

in

In principle, considering alternative solutions makes for better decisions. Exploring alternatives either: (1) builds faith in the leading option (we get to see that the leading option really is the best among alternatives); (2) leads to a new, better solution; or (3) reveals that we do not have a clear handle on the problem (posing alternative solutions pushes us to clearly define the problem that we are trying to solve).
Practical Tip: Even when you think you have the right answer, pose alternatives. Consider, “What are some other ways to approach this? How else could we get the job done? How else could we solve the problem?” Be wildly creative. Be hypothetical. Like a child posing dolls or trucks, be imaginative. After you have posed and considered alternatives, then decide.

Putting People in Boxes is Not Okay

in

In principle, when we look at people in certain ways, place labels on them, or “put them in boxes,” it limits what they have to offer. It is especially tempting to “contain” those who disagree with us. We are tempted to ignore our adversaries, work around them, wall them off, shut them down. These techniques might help us win as individuals, but they work against making good group decisions.
In principle, the best group decisions come when we genuinely consider ALL offerings, not just the ones we like. In fact, what makes group decisions better than individual decisions is the tension of initial disagreement.
Practical Tip: Muster the courage to really consider disagreement. Muster the discipline to work with people you do not like. Resist labels, walls, boxes and be open-minded to all offerings. When someone is placed in a box – silenced, contained, ignored – they add about as much value to the decision as, well...a cardboard box.