Inter-Personal Skills Assessment

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Cities Developing Urban Agriculture Codes

Urban agriculture has become increasingly popular in recent years as a way to deal with vacant properties, revitalize neighborhoods, and provide job skills and nutrition to local residents struggling with poverty and a lack of access to fresh produce.

In Austin, Texas, a working group of the Sustainable Food Policy Board is meeting to clarify and update city code related to urban farms, livestock, size of farm, employees and dwellings, according to the Austin Chronicle.

The working group has been holding public sessions to gather input from urban farmers and community members about pending updates to the urban farm ordinance.

In April 2013, the Flint Farmers' Market reported that the Detroit City Council adopted the city's first urban agriculture zoning ordinance recognizing agriculture as a legitimate land use and setting standards for it.

Other cities working to update or create urban agriculture codes include Boston, Massachusetts;
Fort Collins, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon.

For more information, see USDA's National Ag Library webpage on Urban Agriculture.

Home » Business Development » Getting Prepared » Business Skills » Articles » Inter-Personal Skills Assessment

Don Hofstrand Reviewed, February 2006
Co-director, Ag Marketing Resource Center
Iowa State University Extension
dhof@iastate.edu

Inter-personal skills relate to your ability to work with others and are essential for the long-term success of your business. Firms that possess human resources with exceptional skills have a long-term focus and are more likely to use their skills to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

They help you focus on recognizing others’ individuality, communicating effectively, working as a team member, mediating differences, and listening to others. Use the 10 questions below to assess your inter-personal skills.

How would you rate your interpersonal skills?

	Unsatisfactory			Weak	Average	Good	Exceptional
1. Exchange thoughts and ideas with others. This involves both the ability to receive and send information.	1			2	3	4	5
2. Listen to others who may have a better method of accomplishing a task.	1			2	3	4	5
3. Identify personality differences between individuals and use this information to develop unique working relationships.	1			2	3	4	5
4. Assist a group of individuals to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution.	1			2	3	4	5
5. Work with others to stimulate and promote personal and business growth.	1			2	3	4	5
6. Work on a team and focus on the objectives of the team rather than use the team to satisfy your own personal agenda.	1			2	3	4	5
7. Work on a team and fill whatever role is needed on the team whether it is leader or follower.		1	2		3	4	5
8. Work with a group of individuals to identify common goals.		1	2		3	4	5
9. Mediate conflicts between people and help them work together as a team.		1	2		3	4	5
10. Negotiate favorable business agreements with suppliers, marketers and others.		1	2		3	4	5

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