ABSTRACT
The word-processing program's dictionary defines consensus as "general or widespread agreement among all the members of a group". This is the kind of definition that should scare a sensible person away from consensus building. The chapter explains the five basic phases of consensus building. They are: Convening, Assigning Roles and Responsibilities, Facilitating Group Problem Solving, Reaching Agreement, to Their Commitments. The goal of problem solving, in a consensus-building context, is to generate packages, proposals, and ideas that can help all the parties do better than they would in the absence of an agreement. The goal in CBA is to get people to be very clear about their reasons for liking or not liking the package. The chapter describes three models of leadership, which sit on a spectrum from majority rule to CBA. The modes are: leader as the savior of the group, leader as process manager, facilitative leadership.
