To see more featured blogger posts, click here. Tags: big, career, featured blogger, creative, lessons learned, life, small, town We’ve said it before: getting work done in government is a team sport. It requires motivated people with different skills to put their personal priorities aside and work toward a single outcome. In basketball, you assemble a dream team—a team that’s great not only because it has the best people, but because of how the team communicates.
The same is true in government.
To get anything done—whether it’s federal rulemaking or deciding what amenities to include in a new neighborhood park—government employees at all levels need to understand the various viewpoints on a single issue, figure out what’s in the best interest of the public, and then execute. This includes viewpoints from within government (e.g., different opinions from transportation, planning, finance, environmental protection) as well as from external stakeholders (e.g., different opinions from small businesses, community groups, residents.
Public servants must bring together
Diverse stakeholders with widely divergent opinions to solve problems. They can’t bridge the gap between diverse stakeholders if they aren’t overseas chinese in canada data great listeners. Research shows that good listening requires more than just keeping quiet and offering a few encouraging “um-hmms.” Although it’s a skill we learn in kindergarten, there’s always room for improvement.
That’s why Harvard Business Review
Covers it so often. Just like basketball, practice makes perfect. So here are some great reminders and practical tips you can start practicing today to with specific goals, so if, for example improve your listening skills. Create a safe environment. Yes, that means using nonverbal cues like encouraging nods and “uh-huhs” and clearing out distractions like phones and laptops. But it also means listening with your eyes and ears. Watching nonverbal cues like body language and facial expressions rich data can make you more aware of the emotional state of the person you’re listening to, making them more comfortable expressing themselves.
Our favorite book on using nonverbal cues
Improve communication is Emotions Revealed by Paul Ekman. Check it out! Go beyond just getting the facts. Most people think that if they learn the facts in a conversation, they’ll understand the idea. But that’s usually not the case. In fact, studies show that we tend to forget between half and a third of the facts we learn in an eight-hour conversation. So, instead of just asking for facts, ask questions that clarify ideas and assumptions to reframe your own thinking.