Student organization members and leaders make decisions in the group all the time. The decision making process can be stressful because some members see it as a form of power struggle, some people cannot bear the idea of losing an argument, and some people simply do not like to make decisions.

Decisions are an important part of group life, and you may wonder how your group could improve in this area. All groups, clubs, executive boards, and committees go through a development process. This cycle is most likely repeated every year when new members join at the beginning of the fall semester. Understanding the process will help you as a leader.

There are four stages of development. If you understand these stages you can combine you energies and reach a group decision.

• FORMING: finding and establishing a place in a new organization, determine goals and purpose, get to know each other.
• STORMING: communication problems occur, members compete with each other, splinter groups form, hidden agendas surface, team begins to set boundaries.
• NORMING: members identify and agree on roles for solving problems, feedback is high and well received, team confidence is high, appreciation, trust and respect build.
• PERFORMING: team is collaborative and interdependent, high confidence and task accomplishment, high motivation and morale members find solutions to problems, support levels are high, members care about each other.

The goal is to get your organization to the level of performing. Once your organization is at that level, group decision-making is an easy process.

Since members possess the essential ingredients for the solution of all disagreements, group decisions should be based on all the members' input. Certainly, if there are decisions that only take a few people to make, it may not be necessary to involve the entire group.

GROUP CONSENSUS GUIDELINES
Effectiveness in communication is of paramount importance in the consensus decision-making process. You can enhance your group communication by paying attention to the following "DO's and DON'Ts".

DO:

• LISTEN, not only to the words, but to the rationale being offered.
• PURSUE your point and be persistent if you have good information.
• MANAGE your time effectively, relative to the number of decisions that are being made.
• INVOLVE all team members to ensure use of their knowledge and experience.
• STRIVE for the best answer. Thinking in cause-and-effect terms avoids dealing only with symptoms.

DON'T:

• Argue for the sake of winning your point. You may learn something by being open minded.
• Give up on your conclusion simply to avoid conflict. Let objective reasons or sound information prevail.
• Allow the group to get hung up on a specific item -- move on and come back later.
• Compete by assuming that someone must win and someone must lose. Look for the best alternative.
• Resort to voting.

This tends to split the group into winners and losers.

THE LEADER'S ROLE
This approach to group decision-making places the leader in a particular role in which he/she must cease to contribute, avoid evaluation, and refrain from thinking about solution or group products. Instead he/she must concentrate on the group process by assuming responsibility for accurate communication between members. The way decisions are made testify to the degree of effectiveness of a group. Here is a list of facts about effective and ineffective groups:

EFFECTIVE GROUPS

• generate more ideas than individuals
• have a high level of participation
• develop a climate where members can be relaxed, open and direct
• are task-oriented

INEFFECTIVE GROUPS

• pool ignorance and misinformation
• eject non-conforming members
• force members to comply or compromise
• engage in "groupthink"
• take action because they cannot think of any reason not to

EFFECTIVE GROUP MEMBERS

• defer to members who they are certain have the facts
• form loyalties to their own group
• encourage and support other group members
• mediate differences in the group

INEFFECTIVE GROUP MEMBERS

• give in on items they are sure of
• oppose or block decisions without cause
• encourage and support other group members
• dominate discussions

By following these tips concerning group work and achieving consensus, your group can avoid the negative aspects and enjoy the reward of knowing your group has done its best to achieve a true consensus.