The important thing is that people generally feel happy with what actions and stances you take as a group. If they don’t, they’ll get frustrated and lose interest. If there is disagreement, if 60% of the group likes an idea but you don’t want to alienate the remaining 40%, remember that you can always encourage people to take action or speak out as individuals.
Finally, remember that having a democratic structure is not enough.
Democracy is a way of life. You should be constantly encouraging people to participate, give their input, and feel a part of the group.
Voting and Consensus
How do you define when a group agrees on something? The idea of consensus is that you talk about it until pretty much everybody agrees. The down side of this is that a few dissenters can paralyze the group, even when the vast majority endorses something. Then again, a simple majority vote has its drawbacks too. How much “agreement” does 51% or even 60% represent?
One possible model would be to use a majority vote on things that don’t matter all THAT much, like what logo to put on a T-shirt, and consensus, or near-consensus on things like whether or not to sit-in your administration building. A 2/3 vote is another possibility, giving a strong mandate but allowing for a significant minority at the same time.
Remember the importance of respecting a diversity of views. If someone feels crushed by the majority, they’ll leave. Good consensus-builders try to synthesize and combine opposing views.
It’s a good idea to re-state the proposal before voting on it, so people know what they’re voting on.
