Do consensus and leadership mix well?
12 June 2014
Read by 2331 persons
Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, commonly known as the Iron Lady, once said that "consensus is the absence of leadership".
Business leaders who actively seek consensus waste too much time in unnecessary analysis and fall into the trap of "clever" collaborators who believe that delaying consensus will delay the inevitable and hinder a decision that harms their personal interests or those of their business unit.
So how to solve this?
By developing self-confidence
A good leader must feel confident enough to lead the debate, while being ready to act without consensus, so as not to slow down important decision-making for competitiveness. Being able, whether leading a small team or a large company, to act and assume one's responsibilities without having reached a consensus. That's leadership!
By leading and not "managing" your teams
There comes a time when it is necessary to close the debate, make a decision, and where the manager must lead his team or company towards a common goal. This way of acting makes all the difference between leading one's group, team or company and simply managing it, which is easy when there are no obstacles.
By assuming the consequences of one's decisions
In this, the difficulty of the leader's role takes on its full meaning. A good leader must be able to make the decisions he or she deems right for his or her company and to assume all the consequences if these decisions are not unanimous.
It is clear that the search for consensus should be recommended, but it should not become the priority. Consensus should be considered more as a result and leadership in business is more a question of trust and good results than a question of popularity.
When trying to reach a consensus within a team, always listen to everyone's opinions, but don't let personal motivations harm the company's interests. As a leader, have the confidence to act without consensus if necessary and be prepared to assume the consequences of your decisions.
Philippe Montant
CEO of ReKrute
Business leaders who actively seek consensus waste too much time in unnecessary analysis and fall into the trap of "clever" collaborators who believe that delaying consensus will delay the inevitable and hinder a decision that harms their personal interests or those of their business unit.
So how to solve this?
By developing self-confidence
A good leader must feel confident enough to lead the debate, while being ready to act without consensus, so as not to slow down important decision-making for competitiveness. Being able, whether leading a small team or a large company, to act and assume one's responsibilities without having reached a consensus. That's leadership!
By leading and not "managing" your teams
There comes a time when it is necessary to close the debate, make a decision, and where the manager must lead his team or company towards a common goal. This way of acting makes all the difference between leading one's group, team or company and simply managing it, which is easy when there are no obstacles.
By assuming the consequences of one's decisions
In this, the difficulty of the leader's role takes on its full meaning. A good leader must be able to make the decisions he or she deems right for his or her company and to assume all the consequences if these decisions are not unanimous.
It is clear that the search for consensus should be recommended, but it should not become the priority. Consensus should be considered more as a result and leadership in business is more a question of trust and good results than a question of popularity.
When trying to reach a consensus within a team, always listen to everyone's opinions, but don't let personal motivations harm the company's interests. As a leader, have the confidence to act without consensus if necessary and be prepared to assume the consequences of your decisions.
Philippe Montant
CEO of ReKrute
