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Tell us about a time when you had to work with people who disagreed with you, and how you found common ground. If the City received a $1 million grant to spend any way you wanted, what would you do with it? “The knee-jerk response is something cool, something to put Brooks on the map even more,” Ryan says. “But the reality is… the people I’ve talked to and my own opinion would be to put the $1 million into the pot to continue to move Brooks to be as fiscally responsible as possible. This approach would continue to make us attractive for big and small businesses, and sustainable growth. In the long run, that will exceed the instant benefit of spending the $1 million on something cool.” When priorities compete, how would you decide what comes first? “Research, seek input from the community, and open discussions will always give you what a person needs to help make informed decisions. We have access to such a vast level of information, and with research, nearly every situation can be found and used to help find solutions or direction.” Working with disagreement…Tell us about a time when you had to work with people who disagreed with you. “For eight years, I was a head referee for Southern Alberta Motocross and three terms as head referee for the Western Canadian Amateur Nationals, over 100 events. As you can imagine, I had a ton of racers and parents who disagreed with me. Sometimes, they very much disagreed with me. But through this experience, I learned so much about myself and people. We all just want to be heard, and really heard, not just lip service. Wanting to be heard doesn’t mean we all have to agree, but allowing someone to be heard really sets the space for finding common ground. I am no way perfect at this, but I continue to work very hard to make sure this is an active tool I use.”
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