Consensus Team Decisionmaking for Strategic Leaders
Washington DC: National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, 2004. Third Printing [Stated]. Wraps. xiv, 87, [3] pages. Figures. Notes. Appendices. Scuff on front cover. There are several blue highlighted portions throughout the book. The monograph Consensus Team Decisionmaking for Strategic Leaders provides a guide for utilizing structured collaborative frameworks to build unified agreement and optimize executive decisions in high-stakes environments. It emphasizes that effective consensus requires ensuring dissenting voices are heard before a team commits to a decision, thus fostering trust and avoiding false harmony. Consensus building in leadership is more than a method of reaching agreement it is a strategic practice that unites diverse perspectives, strengthens trust, and drives collective ownership of decisions. By fostering inclusivity and dialogue, it transforms group dynamics into a powerful source of innovation, alignment, and long-term success. This method is often celebrated as a key leadership practice, and for good reason. Whether navigating complex team dynamics or driving cross-functional collaboration, engaging in consensus-building efforts can foster trust, mutual respect, and unity. When leaders create space for diverse voices and guide teams toward overwhelming agreement or even unanimous agreement, the result is often a more committed workforce and a stronger sense of ownership in the final outcome. The three authors—Bart Michelson, Mike McGee, and Len Hawley—were high-level military strategists, defense academics, and government officials. From the Foreword: One critical aspect of strategic leadership in the Department of Defense environment is the ability to deal with complex, long-term challenges and performance requirements associated with decisionmaking at the national level. In reality, this is generally true for almost all large complex organizations. Decisionmaking teams can be a valuable and powerful asset to strategic leaders. The Industrial College of the Armed Forces is committed to strengthening each student's consensus decisionmaking and team performance abilities. The vehicle for inculcating these skills is the process of consensus team decisionmaking. Following graduation from ICAF, students will find themselves serving on interagency decisionmaking teams charged with developing future national security strategy and national military strategy; on joint mission planning teams; and on crisis management teams. Knowing how to forge consensus for action will be critical. In this monograph developed by faculty members of ICAF's Strategic Decisionmaking Course, the concepts and strategy for consensus team decisionmaking unfold. Our goal has been to provide ICAF graduates with the skills required to forge consensus at the strategic level of large organizations. We hope this monograph will make these concepts available to a larger audience. In the final analysis, how decisions are made is often just as important as the decision itself. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Consensus, Team, Decisionmking, Strategy, Leaders, Success Factors, Decision Management, Behavior Management, Ground Rules, After-Action
[Book #91708]
Price: $45.00