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Guest facilitator Doris leads 'radical respect' workshop for City of Clermont council
Summary
A 90‑minute workshop for the City of Clermont council focused on professional disagreement and a four‑step LEAD framework. Presenter Doris said the city’s code already includes the same principles and urged the council to practice 'radical respect.'
Doris, a presenter and Claremont resident, led a 90‑minute workshop at the City of Clermont council’s April 21 workshop on how elected officials and staff can disagree productively while preserving professional relationships. The session, framed as a training rather than a decision item, combined brief lectures, live anonymous polls and workbook exercises.
Doris opened by saying the goal was not to encourage performative politeness but to teach tools for ‘‘honest leadership’’ and handling triggers. She outlined four principles — engage professionally, listen without interrupting, challenge ideas not people and stay outcome‑focused — and said she found those values already reflected in the City of Clermont’s code of conduct. A live poll of council members showed 71% of respondents believed the council currently operates in a ‘‘low honesty, low respect’’ quadrant, a result that prompted candid discussion about rules and meeting enforcement.
Doris introduced the LEAD framework — Listen, Empathize, Add, Direct — as a stepwise method to respond when tensions rise. She urged officials to ‘‘listen first’’ and paraphrase to demonstrate understanding, then add perspective and direct the conversation toward a solution. To illustrate, she walked the group through a practice scenario about a midyear infrastructure budget increase and asked attendees to identify which LEAD behavior they would focus on going forward; 80% selected ‘‘direct the conversation forward.’’
Throughout the session, council members acknowledged longstanding tensions and described occasions when they felt rules were unevenly enforced. Several speakers said they welcome more shared norms and suggested follow‑up training and written tools. Doris offered materials and said she would return for deeper sessions if the council wanted them.
The workshop was informational; no council action was taken. The dialogue ended with a request to adopt some of the practices in future meetings and with an agreement to circulate the presentation slides and workbook material electronically.
The council’s next regular meeting will include separate agenda items on EMS services and planning‑and‑zoning reforms discussed later in the workshop.
