The Basics of Consent & A Peek Beyond

The basics of consent management, derived as it is from Quaker practices, lies in a fundamental respect of people for one another, as being "equal before God." Further, the notion is that the objections (reasoned objections) to a proposed solution are actually the raw material for a better solution, and that the process of a collaborative solution is conducive to a high level of buy-in, so that there is no resistance at the time of implementation.

Another fundamental value of the system lies in the organizational learning that only strategy and policy decisions are subject to the consent process (strategy at the top levels, lower down mostly policy), and therefore that implementation is a matter of assigning tasks to people, and execution thus a simple management problem. And if new jobs/tasks need to be assigned, then the consent procedure again ensures that the absolutely optimal decisions are being made.

Through my own experience with implementing the consent model and some limited consulting experience I had in the early 90's as well, I have gradually come to the conclusion that it is however a mistake to implement the consent model, or any other similar management model, without adequate inner growth, to begin with at the top of the organization. This means a level of introspection that is often hard to find in the business world, but it is critical. As I've already pointed out in an earlier blog, if you have an island of empowered management within a hierarchical company, this will ultimately blow up. So it is mandatory to start from the top down.

The issue about introspection is necessary since fear is the one factor which wrecks everything, and "driving out fear," a phrase coined by W. Edwards Deming, cannot ever work unless it starts inside. The insecurity comes from within, and no change of circumstances can ever solve the problem. So the beginning of a solution has to come from a willingness to see how our own insecurities set up the problems, and contribute to dysfunction in our work environments. A variety of methods are available to help get this process under way. There is the forgiveness process of A Course In Miracles, which is the process that I personally find helpful. The huge popular appeal of Eckhart Tolle, through Oprah Winfrey shows clearly that millions of people are eager for this sort of change. There are other practical solutions such as Byron Katie's The Work, which is a very straightforward way to help people see that the only thing that matters, and in fact the only thing they can change, is their own contribution to the problem. That is indeed a turnaround.

My friend Tomas Vieira (co-author with Nouk Sanchez of Take Me To Truth) also has recently done some management trainings, Managing Without Ego, which have been very successful in Australia. In all the time is ready for companies to get into this type of change. Once there is an willingness to be part of the solution, to take responsibility, and to quit blaming others, then structural change also becomes easier, and here concepts like consent management may indeed prove very helpful.

Changing the form first however, is bound to be pointless, and just another way of moving the deck chairs on the Titanic, as everyone knows who has been through too many pointless corporate reorganizations. It is important to recognize that the ego's basic motivation is always to see the problem outside myself, and thus to pretend that changing the circumstances will accomplish anything at all, which invariably just moves the problem around forever, without accomplishing anything.

(c) 2008, Rogier Fentener van Vlissingen