The NAYs Have It! - What's Wrong with Consensus Driven Leadership?
The NAYs Have It! - What's Wrong with Consensus Driven Leadership?
When he brought in the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln polled his Cabinet. The Secretary of State stood and uttered his "Nay" unmistakably. The Secretary of the Interior followed suit. The Treasury Secretary and so forth: all against. Lincoln heard them each in turn. Then Lincoln raised his hand and said... "The Ayes have it."
It's a classic example of vision and values driven leadership. Even within a democracy, there are times when the captain of the ship has to pull rank to make tough and potentially unpopular choices. For Lincoln, signing the Emancipation Proclamation required just such an undemocratic, executive decision. If President Lincoln had allowed his cabinet's vote to prevail, would there be 50 united states today?
The NAYs Have It
What happens when the opposite scenario occurs? I'm referring to cultures where a single "no" from anyone can torpedo an idea and a 100% majority is required for action. In effect, with just a single voice of dissention, the nays have it. Isn't this what occurs with leaderless teams? In absence of leadership, we have group cowardice. Collaboration is critical, but not at the expense of granting veto power to any and all naysayers.
Who's Captain of the Ship?
In my travels, I frequently find organizations where no one is willing to act as Lincoln did. Despite the presence of executive titles, no one takes responsibility for the direction of their ship. Instead they have Consensus Driven Leadership, which too often means no leadership at all. Reactive behavior is the norm and pro-activity is the exception. Rudderless ships may survive without sinking, but will struggle to reach their destination. While consensus driven decision making exists in all types of organizations, those with multiple partners like professional service firms and family owned businesses are even more likely to fall prey to the all or nothing approach to taking action and innovation. When you grant veto power to all naysayers, where is the leadership? Whose agenda is acted on? The word executive comes from the verb execute. Aren't executive decisions supposed to be about proactive execution?
The next time you see a single, uninspired naysayer attempt to torpedo a significant positive initiative, ask yourself three questions:
* What is the goal that we are working to achieve?
* What kind of executive skills and behaviors does this situation demand?
* What would Honest Abe do?
The NAYs Have It Whats Wrong with Consensus Driven Leadership - To learn more about this author, visit Tom Lemanski's Website.
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Most of us have heard the story of President Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet as they pondered signing one of our country's most historic documents...
When he brought in the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln polled his Cabinet. The Secretary of State stood and uttered his "Nay" unmistakably. The Secretary of the Interior followed suit. The Treasury Secretary and so forth: all against. Lincoln heard them each in turn. Then Lincoln raised his hand and said... "The Ayes have it."
It's a classic example of vision and values driven leadership. Even within a democracy, there are times when the captain of the ship has to pull rank to make tough and potentially unpopular choices. For Lincoln, signing the Emancipation Proclamation required just such an undemocratic, executive decision. If President Lincoln had allowed his cabinet's vote to prevail, would there be 50 united states today?
The NAYs Have It
What happens when the opposite scenario occurs? I'm referring to cultures where a single "no" from anyone can torpedo an idea and a 100% majority is required for action. In effect, with just a single voice of dissention, the nays have it. Isn't this what occurs with leaderless teams? In absence of leadership, we have group cowardice. Collaboration is critical, but not at the expense of granting veto power to any and all naysayers.
Who's Captain of the Ship?
In my travels, I frequently find organizations where no one is willing to act as Lincoln did. Despite the presence of executive titles, no one takes responsibility for the direction of their ship. Instead they have Consensus Driven Leadership, which too often means no leadership at all. Reactive behavior is the norm and pro-activity is the exception. Rudderless ships may survive without sinking, but will struggle to reach their destination. While consensus driven decision making exists in all types of organizations, those with multiple partners like professional service firms and family owned businesses are even more likely to fall prey to the all or nothing approach to taking action and innovation. When you grant veto power to all naysayers, where is the leadership? Whose agenda is acted on? The word executive comes from the verb execute. Aren't executive decisions supposed to be about proactive execution?
The next time you see a single, uninspired naysayer attempt to torpedo a significant positive initiative, ask yourself three questions:
* What is the goal that we are working to achieve?
* What kind of executive skills and behaviors does this situation demand?
* What would Honest Abe do?
The NAYs Have It Whats Wrong with Consensus Driven Leadership - To learn more about this author, visit Tom Lemanski's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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