How do I stop chasing consensus and make better decisions?

You have found something comfortable in getting everyone to agree first. The nodding heads feel like proof you chose well. But agreement and correctness are not the same thing. Often the option nobody objects to is just the blandest one, stripped of anything bold enough to matter. Consensus is a good servant and a poor master. Use it to gather what people see that you don't. Then decide. Your job is not to keep the room happy; it is to choose the best path and carry the weight of it. That weight is yours to hold, and no vote can take it off your shoulders. Next time, before you poll the room, write down what you actually think is right. Keep it in front of you. Let the discussion sharpen it or change it, but do not let it disappear into the crowd. Then make the call, even if one voice grumbles.