Stop Faking It: Consulting Your Team for Real
Consultation is accessing the knowledge and expertise of a person or group with the intention of applying their input in decision-making processes.
Why would you consult a group of people?
· To make them feel included and valued.
· To recognize and benefit from their unique knowledge.
· To paint a fuller picture of a situation and have more information to inform a decision.
· To get support for a plan from the larger group who will have to execute it.
Consultation done well can boost morale, increase likelihood of success and build shared goals across teams. Consulting someone does not oblige you to take on each and every one of their suggestions. But fake consultation – asking for someone’s input in circumstances that reveal you have no intention of applying or heeding their suggestions – can afflict harm on relationships and projects.
Throughout my career, I have witnessed the disengagement and displeasure fake consultation can cause. In the process of exploring phony or symbolic consultations, we can also shed light on what legitimate consultation looks like.
What does fake consultation look like?
You schedule consultations at the end of your decision-making and planning schedule.
Consultation can unearth unexpected information about what is causing, perpetuating and validating certain behaviours, actions and processes in your environment. Having this broad information is most useful at the beginning of the decision-making process.
If you come to a team or a stakeholder after having gone through the bulk of the decision-making process, effectively presenting the course of action you have already determined, you are missing the opportunity to enter into your decision-making with maximum information and context. You may also be prejudiced against suggestions that undermine or complicate the plan you have already set. The potential for broad-based buy-in also decreases, because your team views the plan as “your plan” instead of “our plan”. Leaving consultation too late exposes you to a variety of risks in terms of team dynamic and quality of decisions.
You (accidentally) create an intimidating environment by consulting in too large a group.
You want the input of your team on an exciting new project or annual business plan. And you decide to convene the WHOLE team – management, mid-level, support workers. You have a white board and an agenda and you are ready to go.
Your good intentions notwithstanding, this approach may not result in the most free-flowing or candid dialogue. People may be afraid to speak up in front of their manager. People may feel shy about talking too in depth about their specific area of work. You will also have the people who are not shy at all, take up a lot of space and silence people with alternate views.
Large group consultation does not have to be a total bust. Through external facilitators, ice-breakers and smaller group work, this approach can yield impressive results. Just be aware of the possible pitfalls of this approach and take care to create a comfortable space for sharing ideas and multiple perspectives.
You don’t prepare people for the consultation.
If you want to hear thoughtful ideas and well-considered suggestions, prepare people ahead of time. Share background information and let them know the types of participation required. Let people know what you want from them, and you are more likely to receive it.
You view consultation as a threat that will expose your team to criticism.
Consultation is related to change, and it often involves questioning the status quo and discussing other ways of doing things. Some people want to protect their team from consultation because they conflate investigation and reflection with criticism and attack. Consultation is not something to protect people from. If done well and thoughtfully, consultation is not a critical act but an empowering process.
What to do if you are struggling with consultation…
You do not have to consult people.
If you are in a hierarchical workplace where upper management make the decisions, then don’t pretend to be something you are not. Instead of consultation, you should present your plans and strategy in a compelling way. Illustrate the rationale and vision underlying the approach to inspire buy-in.
You do not have to create a special occasion to consult people.
The most candid conversations and input may come in the form of one-on-one or small meetings. By approaching your team individually, you might find the widest range of opinions from which you can identify common themes or outliers. Practice creating space for people to share their expertise and knowledge on a regular basis by asking for input, responding honestly to suggestions and acknowledging people’s contributions.
You do not have to consult everyone on everything.
It’s okay not to include your accounting team in a consultation of public relations practices. Asking people to share opinions on areas of work they are not experts in can result in unintentional insults or tension between teams. Feel free to engage in more focused consultation in addition to cross-function or cross-team consultation.
I hope this article helps you consult people for real!
