Setting the stage

Whenever possible, especially when listing factors that come out of a group session, the use of priorities is helpful. For instance, there may be things that fall into the "want" list that need to be ranked so a great deal of time isn't wasted negotiating toward perfection when it's often unachievable. 

One technique that can help a facilitator of any mediation or a consensus process is the pre-survey. In it, for instance, each participant is asked to list five desired outcomes, but also rank each of those desired outcomes on a scale (e.g., 1-10). This gives the moderator a great deal of information ahead of time. If a particular desired outcome is mentioned by someone in the actual meeting and it hasn't appeared in anyone's survey, the facilitator can mention that and ask for consensus on regarding that stated desired outcome as beyond the scope of the current process. Of course, if a groundswell seems to be growing to include it, that is a time to flex and even reformulate the proposal under consideration.

The same logic applies to a desired outcome mentioned by a few participants but ranked low (1-4). Honing in on what matters most to most of the participants can both honor the longer consensus process but also make it more efficient. 

Having said that, the facilitator needs to see if something can go to the participants who listed that desired outcome, ranked it lower, and are then asked to give up on getting it done. Do those people seem to share one or more desired outcomes they rank very highly? If so, the facilitator can test it to the group by saying something like, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm hearing is that some of you have a high priority on addressing racism in our organization and a somewhat lower priority on achieving great fiscal position. Some of you might flip that priority. Is there a way to achieve enough of both to feel successful?"

This is harder without an outside expert facilitator, but if one of the organization is also the facilitator, it should be someone with fewer strong opinions, so the facilitator isn't frequently taking an advocacy stance, which can corrode the perception of a decent process.