“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
I shared this quote on my Instagram a few weeks ago to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I often find myself thinking about this quote and how it relates to being a leader. When I think about searching for a consensus, I tend to attribute this to being on a committee. As some of you may know, I feel a certain way about committees, especially in business.
When you make decisions as a committee, you get into trouble because there must be a majority agreement to move forward – this can bog down decision-making. I see this problem in churches, schools and other organizations.
We don’t have committees here at Service Express. I’m a strong believer in having an interdisciplinary support system of leaders throughout the organization that helps make decisions. Before reaching a decision among the team, I’m transparent and discuss my thoughts then listen to their different perspectives. Naturally, there are always decisions that need to be made without the consensus of others – in those cases, we always do what we think is best.
Engaging with our executive leadership team helps me to consider different perspectives as I mold my ideas. I truly enjoy talking to our people and hearing new information and opinions – that’s how we discover new ideas and move forward as a team!
If you’re a leader and don’t have a strong, trustworthy and experienced team to fall back on, I highly recommend assembling one ASAP! Having a cross-department team to voice different perspectives has helped me make decisions and become a strong leader. How do you make decisions in your organization? I would love to know!
