Gradients of Agreement

The Gradients of Agreement is a group decision support tool described in The Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision Making. It spells out an 8-point scale for expressing support for a decision.

1. Whole-hearted Endorsement - “I really like it!”
2. Agreement with a Minor Point of Contention - “Not perfect, but it’s good enough.”
3. Support with Reservations - “I can live with it.”
4. Abstain - “This issue does not affect me.”
5. More Discussion Needed - “I don’t understand the issues well enough yet.”
6. Don’t Like But Will Support - “It’s not great, but I don’t want to hold up the group.”
7. Serious Disagreement - “I am not on board with this - don’t count on me. “
8. Veto - “I block this proposal.”

Leaders ask the group to indicate how they feel about a proposed decision along this scale. Based on what they see, they can then decide if the commitment level is “good enough” or if they need to continue the discussion.