Personal Efficiency and Managing Meetings Training Course

Understanding Ourselves and Others

• Recognizing that inviting others to a meeting imposes our priorities on them
• Exploring what drives our behavior
• Assessing how our behavior impacts others: do they respond as we hope or expect? If not, why not?

The Process for Managing Meetings

• Evaluating whether a meeting is necessary, considering alternatives and their potential advantages
• The process for calling, managing, and preparing for meetings:
  • Creating a meaningful agenda covering objectives, topics, and suggested timings
  • Inviting only the necessary participants
  • Managing the meeting: encouraging relevant contributions (while distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant input), staying on agenda, and keeping to time
  • Creating outputs: not necessarily detailed minutes, but at least clear action points
  • Arranging follow-up meetings

Attending Meetings

• Do I need to attend all the meetings I am invited to?
• How do I decide whether to attend a meeting?
• What justifications can I provide for declining attendance?
• What other productive activities can I pursue during a meeting (considering attendees, subject matter, and timings)?

Other Personal Efficiency and Time Management Issues

• Setting objectives—personal and professional—and adhering to them
• Work Prioritization
  • How do I determine what needs to be done?
  • How do I prioritize these activities?
• Employee-Imposed Time: Are my staff and colleagues working for me, or am I working for them?
• Time Bandits: What else steals time away from me, and how can I address it?
  • Emails
  • Telephone calls
  • Unplanned interruptions
  • Displacement activities: procrastination, etc.
  • Other factors
• Effective delegation
• Assertiveness: seeking compromise and learning to say “no” effectively