"Executive Director" is a clue. That's a common title at investments banks inc JPMC, GS, MS. I suspect the story will recount political machinations typical on Wall St or City of London.

Yes but it's 1 AM here. I'll reply in the morning when I can give a cogent answer.

When you wake - i'd love to read it too. I want to second the opinion that learning to build consensus is a very, very valuable skill. It's how a lot things really get done. I've never gone so far as to document things extensively or really need to, but it sounds like you learned some very interesting tactics on how to build consensus effectively because you were forced to. Not a fun position to be in, but if you could share the tips that would be valuable.

One advice I've read/heard is to make sure to give everyone a chance to give his/her input and address any concerns. It should be done individually so everyone has space.

Should a decision be made that was not favorable to one individual, at least it was discussed and was given the chance to give his/her opinion.

Yeah. It's definitely something that's worth remember is to ask the quiet ones.

I'm also interested in the reply and putting this comment in as a stub to check back.

I found the book Political Savvy by DeLuca to be quite a good read on this topic. It is very analytical about the political games in a large organization.