I'm still in recovery mode, so my husband, who is an expert in LEAN, Six Sigma, Theory Y, and Toyota Way team training, researched consultation for this week's article from bahai.bellaonline.com. He produced a fascinating, 30,000 word treatise (that was after editing it down from 54K, he said).

Okay, maybe it wasn't quite that long, but it was certainly longer than fits in Bella Online! He's brilliant, and found all sorts of interesting things to share about the skills and attitudes needed for efficient and successful consultation in decision making and team building. Much of what the Bahá'í writings have to say about the importance of and prerequisites for consultation deal with the emotional and spiritual aspects usually left out of current business team training.

To wit: there is a spiritual dimension to perfect consultation. The participants need to be, effectively, polished mirrors or hollow reeds, reflecting the love of God unto those present, to illuminate the dark corners and allow a solution to emerge. The solution discovered is often along a totally unexpected dimension, which allows a win-win to occur between sides, according to the LEAN trainer. Really good consultation can reveal a pathway to "unity above diversity," which more likely "dissolves" the problem rather than "solving" it. The solution comes through the firebox of the hearts reflecting love, and not through some sort of mental or fully rational process of mathematically ranking options or other such computations.

As Daniel Goleman's books, "Emotional Intelligence," and more recent, "Social Intelligence," have documented scientifically, humans are not some kind of poorly functioning rational engines, but rather are highly tuned beings hard-wired to operate in emotional synchrony with tremendous shared insight.

So this week's article is a much streamlined version of husband's essay: Consultation - The Key to Problem Solving

Baha'is believe that mankind has been directed to use consultation in matters great and small as the primary means of building a better world and a happier, more productive personal life. But what exactly is their definition of consultation?

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art183393.asp

The following is his recommended bibliography:

A summary of quotations from the Baha'i Sacred Writings can be found here: http://bahai-library.com/compilation_consultation

A brief informal video introduction to consultation for those who prefer video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VH-4qHd3OQ

A classic Baha'i reference book is John Kolstoe's, "Consultation: A Universal Lamp of Guidance." And a more recent Baha'i inspired book of techniques for handling logistics of meetings is Trip Barthel's, "Transforming Conflict into Consensus - 9 keys to Synergy."

In addition to the emotional and spiritual qualities required for finding spiritual solutions to economic problems, valuable approaches for group dynamics can be found in the now classic "Getting To Yes," by Fisher, Ury, and Patton; and "The Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making" 3rd Edition, by Sam Kaner.

Do visit bahai.bellaonline.com for more articles on ways to change the world through improved parenting, education, and tools for character building, plus links to the sacred texts of the Bahá'í Faith. You don't have to rely on only my understanding, when you can go straight to the source!

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I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback.

Cheryll Schuette, Baha'i Editor
http://bahai.bellaonline.com

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