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.

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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! ;)

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