Personal Efficiency and Managing Meetings Training Course

Understanding Self and Others

• Recognizing that requesting attendance at a meeting implies imposing your priorities on others
• Exploring what drives our behavior
• Assessing awareness of how our actions impact others: Do they always respond as we expect or as appropriate? If not, what is the underlying reason…?

Meeting Management Process

• Determining the necessity of a meeting; evaluating alternatives; assessing if any alternative is superior
• Steps for calling, managing, and preparing for meetings:
  • Drafting a meaningful agenda that includes meeting objectives, topics, and suggested timings
  • Inviting only essential participants – excluding unnecessary attendees
  • Conducting the meeting: allowing relevant contributions (while distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant points); sticking to the agenda; maintaining time discipline
  • Generating outputs: not necessarily detailed minutes, but at minimum, clear action points
  • Scheduling follow-up meetings if required

Participating in Meetings

• Assessing the need to attend every meeting invitation
• Determining criteria for deciding whether to attend or decline
• Identifying valid reasons for declining an invitation
• Exploring other permissible actions during a meeting regarding attendees, subject matter, and timing

Other Personal Efficiency and Time Management Topics

• Setting and adhering to personal and professional objectives
• Work Prioritization
  • Determining which tasks need to be completed
  • Prioritizing these activities effectively
• Time Imposed by Others: Are staff and colleagues working for you, or are you working for them…?
• Time Thieves: Identifying other factors that steal time and strategies to address them
  • E-mails
  • Telephone calls
  • Unplanned interruptions
  • Displacement activities: such as procrastination…
  • Other factors…
• Effective Delegation
• Assertiveness: Seeking compromise; learning to say “no” effectively