LISTENING: THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC SERVICE

By Mark J. Fitzgerald

The importance of the skill of listening and my commitment to using that skill as a member of council

A member of City Council, in this case Loveland's where I am a candidate for a seat this November, one must in a democratic and transparent manner work toward implementing policies that efficiently and effectively deliver services that will make the City a better place to live, work and play. This requires the ability to have vision, communicate, exhibit a strong work ethic and be a team player.

Key to successfully serving as an elected council member is guarding against becoming so involved in processes that people are overlooked. The nature of this "business" is that open dialogue, inquiry and advocacy is necessary to bring City Council together to make a decision and accept and support it, even though the decision may not be the preference of each individual member.

Success is driven by top-notch interpersonal skills. The most important of these skills is effective listening. So the most critical skill for a council member is listening. Without a highly sharpened degree of effective listening and understanding, votes on policy initiatives necessary to fulfill the goals of the City may fall victim to misunderstanding and/or misapplication. Even worse it may lead to mistrust and cynicism. The objective of refining the skill of listening is to arrive at good and clear communications. A by-product of communicating effectively is trust. Trust is the basis upon which public service is founded.

A member of council must pay attention. Pay attention to what voters and the community at large are saying; pay attention to what City staff is saying; and, pay attention to what other organizations and individuals are saying.

The most likely reason a council member will fail is the lack of "people" or "soft" skills. People skills begin with effective listening.

Effective listening starts with an acknowledgement of who is speaking. While the spoken words may all be in English the "language" might not be the same. Herein lies the challenge. The "perceiver" generally drives perceptions. However an elected official, especially one in a high profile role, does not have the luxury of misunderstanding. This applies whether it is council directing the manager, law director, or finance director (all of whom report directly to council), speaking to a citizen making a request or complaint, talking with the media, or during dialogue at the council table. It is absolutely critical that the messages be clearly understood.

So, to become expert in listening one must convey a "posture of curiosity" that strives to discover, understand and respect the message being conveyed. Techniques that help fulfill this include asking for details, repeating key words and "helping out" the speaker. Peoples' "microphones" (spontaneous and undirected comments) are generally always engaged, thus the effective listener can garner much information and comprehension by realizing this.

Experts in the field, such as trainers and academics, have cited that communication is less than 10% words; tone of voice and body language account for the balance. This is enlightening. We are taught over and again to be careful what we say. However things such as facial expression, bearing, gestures, posture and animation in body language are often conveying 90% of our message. Awareness of this phenomenon is crucial to being an "expert listener."

Finally, the effective listener must be aware that what may not seem significant to him or her is very significant to others. This is especially so when listening to people or organizations that come in contact with the City. Usually their reason(s) for doing so relate to specific issues or concerns, whereas, the City and its officials, by their very nature, are deigned to strive for the "greater good." We can better balance these perspectives by being expert at LISTENING.

This is how I will strive to serve on Loveland City Council