How to stop seeking consensus and start taking action

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As companies grow, so do the complexities of communication and decision-making. As an executive and team coach, I frequently observe leaders, in their well-intentioned efforts to build consensus and keep everyone informed, creating confusion, slowing progress, and missing out on key opportunities.?

My client, let’s call him John, is an executive in a growing tech company, and facing this exact challenge. He once walked the halls to communicate, yet the company now has nearly 7,000 employees globally, so what worked then doesn’t work now. In short, John isn’t communicating strategically. His attempts to include absolutely everyone—creating four Slack channels on a given initiative, with 40+ people in each, or having meetings with all the stakeholders potentially impacted—only serves to muddy the waters. Bits and pieces of information are being put in bidirectional channels, making it difficult to know what’s going on. Moreover, people get so inundated with Slack channels that they stop checking them. As one of his peers put it: “Meetings and Slack channels are not a proxy for delivering work.”

Consensus is a good thing—a necessarily component of change. But the pursuit of total agreement can come at a high cost. Leaders must shift from involving everyone to empowering the right people to make decisions and drive action. Here’s how to create that shift effectively.

Adopt the pizza principle

As organizations grow, the number of stakeholders increases, and without clear role definitions, decision-making can become bogged down by too many opinions. When making choices, many leaders fall into the trap of over-inclusion. They may think it’s more polite to include everyone. After all, the more voices at the table, the better the outcome, right? In reality, the opposite is often true. More people often lead to longer, less productive meetings. When I worked at American Express, I remember then-CEO Kenneth I. Chenault saying something similar to, “A meeting shouldn’t involve more people than could reasonably share a pizza.” It’s a principle worth considering.

You can avoid this stumbling block by revisiting an old friend: your RACI model . This framework clarifies who is responsible for making decisions, who is accountable for their execution, who should be consulted, and who merely needs to be informed. This allows you to move forward without feeling the need to consult every single stakeholder. For instance, choosing a delegate to make decisions for the group, team, or department can go a long way in streamlining the process. Once a decision is made, there is no need to revisit or second-guess it (unless it directly threatens the success of a project), even if this means you disagree and commit. Constantly looping in more stakeholders not only dilutes focus—it paralyzes progress.

Ask yourself: Who really needs to be in the room, and how can the RACI model help to cut through the noise?

Stop the spiral?

It is wise to consider different viewpoints when weighing your options, but eventually you’re going to actually have to make that decision. This is where many leaders and teams get stuck.?

While inclusivity is important, consensus should not come at the expense of action. There will come a time when gathering opinions becomes unproductive, and leaders must learn to recognize when it’s happening. Endlessly tweaking each communication to reflect the nuance of everyone’s opinion creates a merry-go-round of discussion, and it’s easy to get so bogged down in minutiae that you lose the bigger picture. It also feels like an exhausting process that wastes valuable time and energy. To prevent this, consider bringing in a coach or creating an informal role for a team member to monitor when discussions are becoming unproductive. When the group starts “spinning,” this person can help steer the team back toward action.?

Ask yourself: Is your team stuck in a spiral? What steps can be taken to stop the spin and refocus on productive conversation?

Protect your time

It’s easy to get bogged down in meetings, conversations, and feedback loops—things that distract you from your highest priorities. Your time is your most valuable resource, but many leaders aren’t spending it wisely . Take a hard look at your calendar. Are you allocating time to what really matters? Or are you robbing yourself with an overstuffed schedule??

Since 2020, the number and duration of meetings has steadily increased , making it even harder to find balance. When my clients bring this issue to me, I point them toward one of my favorite TED Talks, “How to Save the World (or at Least Yourself) from bad Meetings.” It reinforces something I often tell my clients: just because you’re invited to a meeting doesn’t mean you have to attend! Here’s some advice: if you don’t know why you’re invited, there’s no clear agenda, or there’s a laundry list of invitees, pause before you accept. Instead, select “tentative” and ask for more clarity so you can decide if this meeting is really worth attending. Said another way, reclaim your calendar, and be disciplined about how you spend your time, so you can focus on the initiatives that drive the business forward.?

Ask yourself: What percentage of my day do I spend on tasks with the highest impact? What meetings can I delegate, decline, or get up to speed via meeting minutes, to free me up for more important work??

At the end of the day, leadership isn’t about hearing from everyone—it’s about listening to the right people, at the right time, and then taking action. By clarifying roles, seeing the big picture, and making time for what matters, leaders can keep their organizations moving forward. As Jim Rohn said, “You cannot make progress without making decisions.”

What kind of leader do you want to be? Let’s talk about it.?

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