With all the community conversations going on these days, participants must be encouraged to approach every meeting with the presumption of goodwill on the part of others.
As we arrive at a meeting, let’s remind ourselves that the other participants mean well, that they are there with good intentions even if their ideas are different from ours.
Not only will the meeting be more pleasant, but more will get accomplished as well.
When we attend a meeting with the presumption of goodwill, more work gets done because people are willing to find consensus rather than just arguing their points.
Let’s all try it; we’ll make more progress when we view colleagues as collaborators rather than adversaries — no matter what the issue.
An opportunity to learn more about this and other useful skills is coming up at The Citizen’s Forum Making Collaboration Work on Tuesday, March 8, from 8:30 a.m. until noon at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre.
The second session of this two-part workshop series will be on March 29.
The series is designed to strengthen community connections by learning about collaboration theory and practicing collaborative techniques. Call 250-248-2093 ext. 227 to register.
Lisa Leger
Parksville
