“Talk to me about the difference between collaboration and consensus.” For years this was one of my favorite interview questions. It not only ignited enlightening conversations but also let me evaluate the candidate’s understanding of these two critical components in product management. A firm grasp of the nuances between collaboration and consensus is essential if Product Managers wish to avoid pitfalls that lead to mediocrity and failure.
Contrasting Definitions
In the context of Product Management:
Collaboration, a dynamic and trust-based process, that is integral to effective product management, emphasizes teamwork, leverages the collective expertise of cross-functional teams, and drives the organization towards a shared goal. Proper collaboration will yield both stronger ideas and greater buy-in.
- Process, Not Outcome: Collaboration is not a single activity or checkbox and involves actively engaging with team members, stakeholders, and customers.
- Always Desirable, Often Required: Collaboration fosters an environment where diverse perspectives are valued and considered. It’s often a prerequisite for success, especially given a typical product manager’s reliance on influence over direct authority.
- Caution: Ineffective or overdone collaboration can erode trust, communication, and long-term engagement. This is a challenging place for any product management team to recover from.
Consensus, on the other hand, is a potential outcome of the collaborative process. It represents a state where everyone involved makes decisions together.
- Outcome, Not Process: Consensus is the result of deliberation and discussion, where all participants reach an agreement on the path forward. It requires a near-unanimous stance for continued progress.
- Stay up, out of the weeds: Consensus is a powerful tool. It is most effective when targeted at high level strategic goals, product north stars, and directional operations. It becomes exponentially more difficult as you dive into deeper detail and expand the stakeholders.
- Caution: While consensus can be a delightful secondary outcome, it should rarely be the primary objective. Pursuing consensus at all costs leads to inefficiencies and decision paralysis. Process steeped in consensus often fails to acknowledge individual subject matter expertise, it limits group achievement, and ultimately adulterates outcomes.
Why Collaboration and Consensus Matter in Product Management
During the early stages of a project, especially when outlining high-level directives, collaboration is frequent with more comprehensive team involvement. During this time, consensus is not just important – it’s essential. It not only signifies that the project is on the right track but also aids in securing executive buy-in, fostering organizational momentum, and bolstering influence. A project lacking this foundational consensus is at risk of encountering numerous setbacks, including poor expectations, constant surprises, and an adulterated definition of success.
As the project matures there is a nuanced but critical challenge to monitor: the over emphasis of consensus as the primary indicator of progress. As execution continues, more specialized skills and talent will be needed. The team expands, the pace increases, silos form, and there is creative contention to manage. It is at this point that the direct pursuit of consensus as a primary outcome becomes cumbersome. In response product management needs to shift the way it supports the organization from ‘broad agreement’ to ‘individual trust and accountability’. This can be tricky in both timing and execution, making it a stumbling block for even seasoned product managers.
Tips and Tools:
Product managers must balance collaboration and consensus.
Collaboration is a simple yet rarely mastered idea. Collaboration Steps
- Context: Provide proper market, customer, and business background.
- Listen: Don’t come and sell your ideas; don’t argue but do ask questions. Remember it’s not your pitch session, it’s theirs.
- Be deliberate: Decide how to incorporate the feedback into the product’s development. Be intentional about the actions you take (or not) based on the feedback.
- Have a reciprocal conversation: Let people know what is happening with their feedback and why. This final step is vital. People will rarely have issues if collaboration is approached in this manner… but if they do it’s better to know sooner than later.
Consensus can become a negative driving force and start to supplant collaboration when these conditions are prevalent.
- The misconception that collaboration should always lead to consensus and/or that consensus is the required outcome.
- The misconception that less direction and less structure will foster more collaboration.
- Poorly defined organizational roles, structure, or accountability leading to unempowered leaders and broken decision-making processes.
- Poor facilitation or a lack of skill and confidence within the Product Management team.
- Not knowing when to transition and getting stuck in comfortable, safe, reinforcing consensus.
While collaboration and consensus are both crucial tools in the Product Manager’s arsenal, understanding when and how to deploy each is the key to successful product development. Striking the right balance ensures that we maximize collective intelligence without stifling individual expertise.
How do you maintain your balance? Not sure? We are here to help.
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