Harmony by Committee: Crafting Consensus Magic
At HCP, our proprietary consensus program helps healthcare teams move through conflict and find resolutions that work for everyone. On paper, that concept sounds easy enough - get your hands on the “how to” manual, follow the steps, and voila! There’s more to it than that, but don’t be alarmed. The five ingredients critical to consensus success are probably in your wheelhouse already; you just need to be intentional about keeping them at the forefront.
Relationships. You didn’t become a successful healthcare professional by operating on an island. You worked with teams, mentors, and colleagues. You developed and implemented ideas with others to better your organization. How did you do it? You relied on your relationship skills. Many people feel insecure about working with others when there is conflict - this person doesn’t like me, I’m frustrated with that person, if I insert myself here I will lose face there. Commit to a professional approach with others, avoid unnecessary drama and gossip, collaborate and partner, and be willing to set aside past conflicts in order to come into an agreement in the present.
Trust. A lack of trust is probably what is fueling your organization or team’s conflict in the first place, and it can’t simply be summoned back whenever you need it. Trust must be built and nurtured over a period of time. Trust does not happen after one moment or activity. It takes time. When groups in conflict understand that trust is imperative and they do their best to work towards building trust, consensus is effective. Approach your consensus experience from a place of optimism, assuming the best intentions in others, and being authentic, and trust can be built.
Documentation. A consensus experience can be amazing but if no one writes down what was decided and who’s responsible for what, the group should have saved themselves the work and avoided the experience in the first place. Before you engage in consensus, decide who will document the work, where they will store it, and how they will share it. Through documentation you are more likely to achieve the outcomes intended from the consensus experience.
Follow-up. After a consensus experience, groups in conflict will know where the conflict lies, what the agreed upon solutions are, and who is responsible for implementing each facet of the solutions. Following up with the group as a whole and all responsible parties is essential to finish the hard work of resolving the conflict. It is also an investment in trust, because when people know that their leaders are tracking the solutions and moving the group forward, they know they can rely on both.
Accountability. In unhealthy organizations, when one party doesn’t hold up their end of a bargain and no one does anything about it, complacency and cynicism set in. In successful consensus outcomes, people are held accountable for the work they have been assigned. This means that documentation and follow-up were successfully built-in to the process such that organizational leaders feel confident in communicating and holding fast to any consequences that arise when one party’s efforts start to wane. Trust is also a beautiful by-product of accountability!
No matter the conflict, consensus is possible! Remind yourself that you have the capacity to gather the five ingredients described here, and remember, HCP is here to help!