After reading the articles from this week, the common tie I found was that in order to build a consensus among faculty and staff an administrator must first earn trust and buy-in. Without trust and buy-in from ones faculty and staff collaboration and reaching decisions is almost impossible. Communicating and being transparent with faculty and staff members is key to building that trust. It is important to listen to the needs of teachers and students and to fulfill those needs in order to be productive in other areas, student achievement and test scores for example.
At my school the process of consensus building is very similar to the strategies mentioned in this weeks articles. Our school has worked very hard the past two years to cultivate a positive culture and climate. This was done through team building, open door policies and humbling ourselves a little to the idea that we don't know it all. Our school also has a SBDM committee (site based decision making committee). This committee is comprised of one teacher from each grade level, specials, SPED, parents and community members. Our chairperson is our VP; she is responsible from creating agendas and running meetings. Our SBDM committee has worked very hard to build trust with one another and also an open mind to ideas and suggestions. All of this is possible because of the way our principal and VP are so transparent and open with us.
One strategy for consensus building that comes to mind is one that my principal uses quite often. When we come to her with a dilemma instead of her giving us her input she turns the tables, she asks us "what do you think" or "what would you do" when she does this she empowers us and lets us know that our opinions are valued
