Personal Efficiency and Managing Meetings Training Course

Understanding Ourselves and Others

• Recognizing that asking others to attend a meeting imposes our priorities upon them
• Examining the factors that drive our behavior
• Assessing our awareness of how our behavior affects others: Do they always respond as we wish or as they should? If not, why…?

The Process for Managing Meetings

• Determining if a meeting is necessary, exploring alternatives, and evaluating if any alternative is preferable
• The process for calling, managing, and preparing for meetings:
  • Creating a meaningful agenda that covers meeting objectives, topics to be discussed, and suggested timings
  • Inviting only the appropriate individuals, and no one else
  • Managing the meeting: allowing only relevant contributions (while carefully differentiating between relevant and irrelevant); staying on agenda; adhering to time limits
  • Creating outputs: not necessarily detailed minutes, but at least action points
  • Arranging follow-up meetings

Attending Meetings

• Questioning the need to attend every meeting to which I am invited
• Deciding whether or not to attend meetings
• Identifying valid justifications for declining attendance
• Understanding what else I am allowed to do during a meeting regarding attendees, subject matter, and timings

Other Personal Efficiency and Time Management Issues

• Setting and adhering to personal and professional objectives
• Work Prioritization
  • Deciding what needs to be done
  • Prioritizing these activities
• Employee-Imposed Time: Are my staff and colleagues working for me, or am I working for them…?
• Time Bandits: Identifying other time thieves and what can be done about them
  • E-mails
  • Telephone calls
  • Unplanned interruptions
  • Displacement activities: procrastination…
  • Other things…
• Effective Delegation
• Assertiveness: Seeking compromise and learning to say “no” effectively