Letter: Council ‘check-ins’ are tool for understanding

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

[Regarding “Out of Sight: City Council, Mayor and Staff Hold Closed-door Meetings, Sowing Distrust,” Jan. 25, Asheville Watchdog via Xpress:]

As an executive coach, I always hear about poor or lack of communication among team members in organizations. This is a subset of understanding. Think of Stephen Covey’s fifth habit of seeking to understand before being understood.

Council check-ins are a good tool for better understanding in a smaller setting. While I, as a citizen of Asheville, may not be privy to these conversations, I trust they are beneficial and will lead to better decisions that will positively impact the Asheville community.

— David Carr
Asheville

Editor’s note: Asheville City Council voted last week to discontinue private “check-in” meetings and switch to public work sessions.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com
View all posts by Letters →

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

5 thoughts on “Letter: Council ‘check-ins’ are tool for understanding”

  1. kw

    Yes, in a perfect world…If only local council members didn’t take campaign contributions from developers, realtors and others who stand to gain financially from a great many decisions and backroom deals….If only, well, lots of other reasons to get rid of what has been abused and wildly inefficient.

  3. Robert

    If this is the same David Carr who has been an HR consultant for the City of Asheville for 9(?) years, I believe that he (or Mountain Xpress) should have mentioned that fact. Another effort at obfuscation? This proves that citizens have been right to rail against the check-ins and other secret/inefficient dealings we all suspect continue to happen. But maybe the city will one day hire a consultant with the guts to tell the truth.

    • Taxpayer

      Asheville doing what Asheville does. The back room dealing will never end without a clean sweep in leaders. People need to think before they vote the cronies in over and over.

  4. Voirdire

    OMG…. the Council check-in’s…. a fecund breeding ground for malfeasance if there ever was one! Lord, save us from our woke selves! ;)

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.