Your remote team is divided on an important decision. How do you lead them to a unified consensus?

Start with why? Why do you want consensus? Consensus is never a prerequisite for a good decision. As we all know a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Make sure everyone is heard, weigh their asrguments, but as a leader you make the decision. You're paid for it!

Recognize the team division, encourage open dialogue, listen attentively to each member, and reiterate the team's goals and decision criteria for alignment. Please conduct a brainstorming session to explore all possible solutions. Encourage team members to contribute and build on each other’s ideas, promoting a collaborative environment. Lead a discussion to evaluate the pros and cons of each option. This will help objectively assess the impact of each decision on the team and project. Identify areas of agreement and use them as a foundation to build toward a consensus. Highlight shared goals and values to bridge differences. As a leader, if the team remains divided, you may need to make the final decision.

To lead a remote team to a unified consensus, start by listening actively. Create a safe space for open communication, encouraging all members to share their perspectives. Use video calls to read body language and ask clarifying questions to ensure you understand their views. Facilitate discussions through organized virtual meetings, using collaboration tools like shared documents and polls. Identify shared goals and summarize key points regularly to maintain focus. Seek common ground by highlighting agreements and exploring compromises, fostering a sense of inclusion and teamwork. Finally, guide the team toward a mutually acceptable solution.

Leading a remote team to a unified consensus on an important decision can be challenging, but it is achievable with the right approach, you can effectively lead your remote team to a unified consensus, ensuring that everyone feels heard and valued, and that the final decision is well-informed and supported by the entire team.

Encourage respectful communication and active listening. Ensure everyone has an opportunity to speak without interruption. Allow each team member to present their perspective on the issue. Encourage them to explain their reasoning and the pros and cons they see.

Not only in remote teams but in all situations it is important to keep everyone on the same page, with the freedom to share their thoughts related to the decision process. It's much easier to take any decision when the team are engaged with the final result.

I have found that a poor tendency I have to be careful of is conducting monologue that I think will convince everyone to see things a certain way. This is not productive nor constructive. As a leader, we need to encourage dialogue. This will involve asking lots of questions. This will possibly involve mediation (if people are not engaging peacefully). This may even involve changing one's personal opinion of the best way to proceed.

To lead a remote team to a unified consensus, start by listening actively. Encourage open dialogue by creating a safe space where team members feel comfortable expressing their views. Use video calls to read body language and ask clarifying questions to ensure you understand their perspectives. Facilitate discussions through organized virtual meetings, utilizing collaboration tools like shared documents and polls. Identify shared goals and summarize key points regularly to keep the team focused. Highlight agreements and explore compromises to find common ground, fostering a sense of inclusion and teamwork. Guide the team toward a mutually acceptable solution.

Open dialogue is vital for remote teams to establish consensus, build trust, address issues, and enhance decision-making, ultimately enhancing team cohesion. • Encourage Participation: Use Stepladder Technique for individual thinking. • Introduce Multi-Voting: Assign different weights to each vote for thorough scrutiny. • Pinpoint Priorities: Use Modified Borda Count for effective ranking. • Involve the Team in Solution Development: Use Hartnett’s Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making model. • Communicate Clearly and Regularly: Schedule regular check-ins and communicate project goals. • Use Collaboration Tools: Facilitate virtual discussions. • Promote a Positive Team Culture: Recognize and reward contributions.

Clarifying the objectives and goals of the decision at hand can help realign your team's focus. By ensuring everyone understands the bigger picture and the intended outcomes, you can foster a sense of shared purpose. This approach encourages team members to see beyond their individual perspectives and work towards a collective solution. Engaging in open discussions where everyone feels heard and valued can further facilitate consensus, ultimately leading to a unified and informed decision.

It is tough to get everyone on the same page if they do not know what the ultimate objective is. Defining targets and goals can do wonders for facilitating unity, as everyone is at least aiming at the same thing. This will not always unify the team, but it can drastically help to have people thinking in the same direction.

I have an interesting example for this, suppose you're planning a team camping trip. Some want a relaxing beach, while others prefer mountain hikes. By clearly defining the objectives, like spending quality time outdoors and trying new activities, you can find common ground. Maybe a campsite near a lake offers both relaxation and hiking opportunities! This helps the team work together to find a solution that meets everyone's needs.

It is pointless to keep on debating and discussing without a goal. We can drag on a meeting as long as we want without a particular goal and just waste everyone's time. Before the meeting starts, have a clear agenda of why we are gathered. Give everyone a chance to give their opinion. Ideally, meeting should end within 30-60 minutes. It is the responsibility of the leader to control the discussion and ensure that the meeting is steered in the right direction.

Definir objetivos claros é fundamental, pois através deles a equipe terá mais clareza. Vale ressaltar que o acompanhamento das métricas e a participação ativa da liderança em todo o processo é vital para que a equipe permaneça engajada no plano de ação.

When the team has divided opinions and you have heard them, encouraged dialogues and evaluated alignment with objectives, the next steps is to explore alternate paths. By this step the team is usually aware about the pros and cons of the existing options. By looking at alternatives, you open doors to a potentially hybrid option that brings in the best of the existing paths and seeks to minimize the risks.

Often, as leaders we have what we consider the "right way." Then other members of our team may provide alternative methods that are somewhere between "OK" and "not-what-we-had-in-mind." However, often between the two, there are solutions that no one specifically thought of but that are derived from the authentic synergy that occurs when people put their heads together. These are often the very best solutions—if we can see them! :)

Has the remote team not reached a consensus on an important decision? Well, it depends on the type of situation and the associated decision. In the ontology of language we usually mention that there are two types of speaker: the one who decides, the propositional one, and the one who inquires, the inquiring one. These are two types of conversation but they could be two types of leadership. It is usual in empathetic and transformational leadership for the leader to consult and listen, but in an emergency, the leader takes control and decides. He is a propositional leader; then, he returns back. Now, if it is an everyday transactional decision, it is usual for the leader to manage the concord and for the decision-making to be consensual.

A team deciding on a new marketing campaign. Some prefer social media, while others favor email marketing. To find common ground, discuss the pros and cons of each approach. Maybe you find social media reaches a wider audience, but email marketing allows for targeted messaging. By openly evaluating both options, the team can reach a solution that leverages the strengths of each, like a combined social media and email campaign. This fosters a sense of shared decision-making and increases team buy-in.

Once a decision has been made, it is absolutely imperative that it is implemented decisively. The only thing worse than a decision that is dividing a team is a decision that is not well-implemented and leaves the team feeling unsure about next steps and gives no confidence in how to proceed. This is not to say that we should never pivot but rather that our team should be able to rely on a decision, once it is made.

Not all decisions need a unified consensus. Instead, I think it's absolutely critical to build a culture and team that openly debates and discusses decisions, ensures all perspectives are considered, makes sound decisions, and ultimately commits to them - whether or not you wholeheartedly agree or not. Then, execute, learn and iterate.

I'd argue that a unified consensus is not always the gold standard. Particularly in young startups, diverging opinions are common, and healthy, as they are both a sign of psychological safety and force debates, that ultimately lead to better outcomes for the business, product, customers and stakeholders. The most effective teams I've seen are able to say OK, we don't have a consensus here, but based on the data we have, we are moving forward with X direction or decision. There's a crucial difference between reaching a consensus, and reaching a decision. Great leaders are OK if the decision is not the one they want, providing they understand the logic, and have had a chance to argue their case.

Foster a Culture of Collaboration: Promote a team culture that values collaboration, respect, and inclusivity. Encourage team members to support each other and work together towards common goals. Address Conflicts Promptly: If conflicts arise, address them promptly and constructively. Use conflict resolution techniques to manage disagreements and maintain a positive team dynamic. Communicate Regularly: Keep the team informed throughout the decision-making process with regular updates and check-ins. Ensure that everyone is aligned and aware of any changes or developments.

in this situation supporting communication and validity communication helps Support communication involves active listening,intent full listening, listen first to understand, asking clarify question, understand other people point of view, being non judgemental ,by being descriptive, being specific, being problem oriented not personal oriented, use right kind of empathy, avoid criticism, effective use of scare resources own the communication, use of words, authority accountability autonomy altruism reciprocity Validity communication involves affirmating conjunctive accepting and clarifying

I always remind myself that " If my sibling and I grew up under the same roof and parents have differences of opinion and taste, I will have a huge difference of opinion with others". There is strength in diversity and it hinges on the leader to bring about cooperation within the team and draw out the best in them.