Reopen the Diamond Right When You Think You Have Consensus
- JD Solomon
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Teams don't move toward good decisions in a straight line. Bruce Tuckman's forming-storming-norming-performing model is often cited, but it describes what happens to a team over the long haul. Sam Kaner's Diamond of Participation is the more useful tool for facilitators because it describes what should happen meeting by meeting.
The Diamond of Participation
Kaner maps a group's decision path across four phases: divergence, the groan zone, convergence, and closure. In divergence, the group opens up and generates a wide range of options. When done well, some of the options are more extreme than what any individual actually believes. The groan zone follows, bringing confusion, competing framings, and a temptation to shut the conversation down early. Convergence narrows the options. Closure locks in the decision.
Where Teams Go Wrong
Most facilitators treat convergence as the finish line. The participants nods and the energy shifts toward agreement. It feels like the work is done. That feeling is exactly when a facilitator should get suspicious. Consensus reached quickly, right after the groan zone, is often conflict avoidance wearing the costume of agreement.
The Double Diamond
I use a double diamond for exactly this moment. Just as the group settles into what looks like consensus, reopen divergence deliberately. Ask a pointed question that reintroduces a dropped option. Or bring back an earlier dissenting voice and ask that person to restate their concern. Run the group through a second, smaller diamond before you close.
The Tip - Test Consensus
Re-open the decision diamond when you think you have consensus. Remember, consensus you have not pressure-tested is not consensus. Testing consensus saves you from a decision that unravels three months later when the quiet dissenter appears.
The second “S” in FINESSE stands for Synergy.
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