Listening and Reflecting

Afew months ago, I attended a presentation that provided insight about strategic listening techniques. The objective was to engage both hemispheres of the brain in order to stimulate creativity and maximize productivity.

By understanding these techniques, the intent was to increase problem-solving abilities by examining and tapping into the enormous powers of the mind. Most of us have heard, “The mind is a terrible thing to waste.” As such, if the brain is not understood, not exercised, not explored and not fully developed, it can limit a person’s efficiency and effectiveness.

This speaker taught me a little more about maximizing creativity and productivity. Both sides of the brain should complement each other in most all activities. I was surprised to hear that 55% of a person’s communication is non-verbal and 38% is conveyed through voice inflection. As risk managers, we need to be good communicators and realize our audience may be more focused on non-verbal communication and voice inflection than on the content of our message.

As I reflect on the past year, one of my personal goals was to be a better listener. The Board members and the PRIMA CEO met monthly virtually or in-person. Each of these members are great leaders in their own right with great ideas. In leading this organization, I wanted to make sure that each member felt like they had the opportunity to share their ideas in moving our innovative organization forward together. There have been so many previous Board members and PRIMA staff members who have laid the groundwork for our association to thrive. Over the years, I have listened to these thoughts and learned from them both personally and professionally.

I am excited to have been a part of leading this organization this past year, as I have observed more risk managers be trained in enterprise risk management. I witnessed the record number of attendees at PRIMA Institute. We continue to provide resources to those employees who assume many risk management functions. We want to remain the premier organization for risk management resources to local and state government entities. In addition, we want to advance and promote the profession of risk management. I think we have accomplished that. Thank you for allowing me to serve. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sincerely,

Scott J. Kramer, MBA, ARM PRIMA President 2022–2023 County Administrator Autauga County Commission Prattville, AL