Agenda - Council Work Session - 11/22/2022

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DARCY WALKER MANAGEMENT REPORT 06.16.2020 AREA OF FOCUS: LISTENING TO OTHERS SOLICITING IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, AND OPINIONS Skills, Behaviors, and Attitudes to Adapt and Practice • Pay attention to the speaker and try to benefit from each exchange, even if the topic or information is not interesting. • Wait until others are completely finished presenting their point before forming your opinion and response. Avoid judging the speaker, and focus on the message itself. • Show your attentiveness by using body language such as eye contact, nodding, and smiling while others are speaking. • Listen patiently without interrupting others, and avoid becoming distracted while they are speaking. • Ask questions that require more than a "yes" or "no" response when seeking others' input. Doing so could yield valuable information beyond a superficial answer. • Encourage others to share their opinions, listen to all ideas, and consider everyone's point of view to gain the maximum benefit of others' contributions. • Promote an environment that is free of judgment to encourage others to share their ideas. • Allow time in meetings for items not on the agenda to be discussed. Challenging Activities • Thinking about issues or problems according to a set of guidelines can improve the listening skills of the entire team. Make a list of issues, problems, or tasks that require input from your team. Identify ideas and suggestions your direct reports could produce for these issues. Listen attentively. Ask questions that require more than a "yes" or "no" response, allowing them to elaborate on their ideas and suggestions. Let them do most of the talking. Follow through by implementing the suitable suggestions as soon as possible. • After a direct report has offered ideas, suggestions, or opinions about a work -related issue, check yourself against the following criteria to see how well you think you listened: o Did not tune out boring information; did not fake attention; was not distracted o Listened carefully to the main ideas and supporting points o Did not interrupt. Waited for the person to finish before forming opinions and responding. Evaluated the message itself rather than the person speaking o Smiled, nodded, or otherwise encouraged the direct report as they spoke o Ensured your correct interpretation of what they meant by summarizing their points o Asked questions requiring more than a "yes" or "no" answer o Listened patiently CREATING A COMFORTABLE CLIMATE FOR AIRING CONCERNS Skills, Behaviors, and Attitudes to Adapt and Practice • Make it clear through both your words and formal policy that all concerns are treated positively - that there is no retaliation for feedback on sensitive topics. • Remember that you won't always have the best ideas or perspectives - be prepared to accept that your team may sometimes have better ideas and perspectives than yours. © by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or in part, is prohibited. 26