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Do you sometimes struggle to find the right word for what you want to say in English?

Every week, I present an important English word you can use in business. Over time, you will learn many new words that you can use to better say what you want in English.

This week, the important business English word you will learn is:

consensus

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Read this text from a Forbes article about leadership and consensus:

“One of the key traits we associate with effective leadership is the ability to build consensus — convince the team to come to an agreement for the good of the whole.

It’s not the only way to lead and there are plenty of theories that debunk it. But we still tend to associate it with success. I’ve got a colleague embroiled in a disagreement with a team these days, wishing a leader would come and rescue them by insisting they forge an agreement for the greater good, ego struggles aside. […]

They achieved consensus by carefully balancing their arguments and narrowing the focus of their decisions. They didn’t shoot the moon and set their egos and personal beliefs aside. […] So they agreed to work to agree, a classic example of consensus-building.”

Source: Forbes How Bad Leadership Makes Consensus Happen Anyway

How many times can you find the word consensus in this text?

What does “consensus” mean?

Example 1: One of the key traits we associate with effective leadership is the ability to build consensus.

Example 2: They achieved consensus by carefully balancing their arguments and narrowing the focus of their decisions.

A consensus is a general agreement about something. A general agreement about important issues is essential when working in a team.

Good leaders must be able to make team members agree on important topics. To make decisions, all the people in a group must reach an agreement about something, even if they have different opinions.

What type of word is “consensus”?

“Among the startling images that emerged from the G20 summit in Hamburg — a meeting dedicated to building consensus among world leaders — are those of the former leader of the free world.”

The word ‘consensus’ is a noun. It is an uncountable noun which has no plural form.

‘Consensus’ is often used together with the verbs reach, achieve, and build: