The active listener

"My good friend Ben Riechers is one of those people who fits nicely into the 'active listener' class. He is excellent at it. And he is running to be the Mayor of Andover." 

A long time ago, at a company I once worked at, I had the most interesting experience. I was on one of the sales teams, and would spend quite a bit of time in meetings at customer locations. One day, the Captain in charge of the command called our General Manager. "I like your product, I like your people, but I do have one minor complaint. They don't listen to my people as well as they should. The Good Lord gave us all two ears and one mouth and we should use them in that ratio."

Ouch. That one hurt. Even though no names were given, the GM decided that all should learn how to listen better. An expert was brought in who specialized in "active listening". We were all mandated to spend a day with this woman learning how to listen better. When I found out I was one that had to attend, I thought, "Well there is a day wasted." Turns out it was one of the most instructive days I ever spent. I learned a whole lot about listening I had never thought of before.

Why do I tell this story? Since taking this class, I have really been tuned into people who are good, very good, or active listeners. My good friend Ben Riechers is one of those people who fits nicely into the "active listener" class. He is excellent at it. And he is running to be the next Mayor of Andover.

Now, I don't want to just focus in on listening to describe why Ben would make such a great Mayor. However, for this post I will. His other strengths will be the subject of future posts. 

With all due respect to our current Mayor, and Ben's opponent, she is a good candidate to take the "active listening" class. But then again, that might be a bit too advanced for what she needs. Maybe more of a basic class.

I have seen how she conducts meetings. Talk, talk, talk all the time. Always seems to get the last word in. Many times the current Mayor talks more than the staff and the council members put together. 

To have inclusive government, even at the local level, dialogue, not monologue, needs to be the standard. If there is just going to be meetings where only one person talks, the rest might as well stay home. I have been in many meetings with Ben Riechers. He listens hard, is thoughtful and contemplative, and when the time is right, offers up his viewpoint. For Andover, a city of 33,000 poised to grow to 40,000, that is the kind of leadership we need right now.

This November we have the chance to exchange an active talker for an active listener. Someone who gets it. Someone who knows how to work with just about anyone. Someone who can help take Andover on the the journey to becoming an even bigger and better place to live.