Consensus: everyone agrees. Most time consuming.

Vote: have two or more appealing options. Majority wins, but everyone is relatively happy with the outcome.

Consult: get everyone's input, but ultimately you decide.

Dictate: you decide, no external input. Fastest.

If you start a meeting by outlining which process you intend to use it helps. All are valid approaches, and depend on the context of the situation.

I use consult quite often when deciding on a technical direction.