consensus-building
Forging collective accord
Consensus-building is the process of working toward agreement among multiple parties, typically through discussion, negotiation, and compromise.
The term appears frequently in political and organizational contexts where decisions require broad support rather than simple majority rule: The committee engaged in months of consensus-building before announcing the policy.
The hyphenated form functions as a noun or adjective: consensus-building efforts, skilled at consensus-building.
Intervention to resolve conflict
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- peacebuildingEstablishing lasting harmony post-conflict
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
- arbitrationNon-court binding dispute resolution
negotiation · compromise · common ground · understanding · empathy · listening · healing · restoration
Cooperation between political rivals
- coalitionTemporary alliance for action
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- negotiationDiscussion seeking mutual accord
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
mediation · stakeholder · legislation · parliament · filibuster · caucus · ratification · treaty
Making tasks easier
- collaborationJoint intellectual work
- buy-inAgreement to participate
- alignmentCorrect relative positioning
- workshopPlace for making or learning
brainstorming · groupthink · decision-making · committee · task force · retreat · moderator · agenda
Prolonged fuss or chatter
- councilAdvisory deliberative group
- eldersSenior community members
- ubuntuShared humanity ethic
- panchayatVillage-level local government
talking circle · powwow · chief · tribal · oral tradition · collectivism · harmony · ancestors
Formally registering a choice
- pollingSystematic opinion gathering
- straw pollUnofficial sampling of views
- rankingOrdered position assignment
- prioritizationRanking by importance
round-robin · fishbowl · open space · charette · synthesis · iteration · convergence · divergence
mediation
Intervention to resolve conflict
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- peacebuildingEstablishing lasting harmony post-conflict
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
arbitration · negotiation · compromise · common ground · understanding · empathy · listening · healing · restoration · agreement
bipartisanship
Cooperation between political rivals
- coalitionTemporary alliance for action
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- negotiationDiscussion seeking mutual accord
diplomacy · mediation · stakeholder · legislation · parliament · filibuster · caucus · ratification · treaty · multilateralism
facilitation
Making tasks easier
- collaborationJoint intellectual work
- buy-inAgreement to participate
- alignmentCorrect relative positioning
workshop · brainstorming · groupthink · decision-making · committee · task force · retreat · moderator · agenda · unanimous
palaver
Prolonged fuss or chatter
panchayat · talking circle · powwow · chief · tribal · oral tradition · collectivism · harmony · ancestors · ceremony
voting
Formally registering a choice
- pollingSystematic opinion gathering
- straw pollUnofficial sampling of views
- rankingOrdered position assignment
prioritization · round-robin · fishbowl · open space · charette · synthesis · iteration · convergence · divergence · framework
- interactiontalking, sharing, helping, meeting, joining
- business activitiesmeetings, meeting, hiring, firing, training
- co-op termsco-op, cooperative, food co-op, housing co-op, worker co-op
- research collaborationco-authorship, coauthor, collaborative projects, co-investigator, joint project
- Elder Wisdomelder, mentor, sage, wisdom, elder statesman
consensus-buildingdiktat
Unilateral authoritative decree
autocratic rule · fiat · authoritarian rule · executive order · imposition
consensus-buildingdivisiveness
Tendency to create factions
polarization · antagonism · confrontation · intransigence · coercion
consensus-buildingsteamrolling
Overpowering through sheer force
railroading · snap decision · fait accompli · unilateral action · bypassing