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When It’s Not

So when do you not use consensus decision making?

An authoritarian decision is appropriate under some circumstances where consensus is either not possible or not practical. This sounds negative, but it doesn’t have to be. An authoritarian decision is one made by someone with the “authority” to make the decision.

There are two primary factors that may dictate whether or not an authoritative decision is appropriate: time and politics.

When time is of the essence, an authoritarian decision is best made. Getting groups together, discussing the process, and arriving at a consensus decision takes time—time you don’t always have. If you are in a crisis or an emergency, don’t go for a consensus decision, make one yourself.

Organization politics can sometimes be a barrier to a good or practical decision. Not every organization is a smoothly running machine. Sometimes internal divisions are significant and divisive. If it is likely that internal groups will polarize around specific positions and be unbending, then it becomes almost impossible to obtain a good consensus decision. So, when the internal organizational politics of the situation indicate many different and widely divergent factions will preclude a quality decision, use authoritarian style.