Working as a team is crucial

As a recent subscriber to the Observer, hoping to help ‘save local journalism’, it’s been heartwarming to read stories of community collaboration and council/staff efforts to keep essential services running.

However, in a recent edition I was struck by your headline ‘All party task force motion called ‘absolute nonsense’.

To me it summed up so much that is wrong with our tribal politics. Rather than welcoming a constructive suggestion, this politician apparently dismissed it, and, in doing so, demonstrated an apparent lack of influencing skills.

In my professional life in the private and public sectors (including the political arena) I have brought together numerous individuals and groups with competing interests/views. We always started by agreeing ground rules/standards of behaviour which it was my role to ‘police’.

Without exception, listening, courtesy, respect and empathy for, and constructive collaboration with, others, were identified as critical to success.

Shouldn’t we expect our community leaders to behave as good role models – not mimic the arrogance of ‘nasty party’ type behaviour?

Our representatives should work as a team whatever their political persuasion. We all expect our young people to demonstrate good manners, but to what extent is this modelled by all of our representative leaders?

Maybe it’s time for some ground rules/behaviours to be agreed, with breaches called out by the chairman? It costs nothing to be kind and constructive. In fact, it’s a good investment and more likely to produce a positive outcome for the community being served.

GREG BROWN Summersdale Road Chichester