Personal Efficiency and Managing Meetings Training Course

Understanding Ourselves and Others for Government

• Recognizing that when we request others to attend a meeting, we are imposing our own priorities on them.
• Exploring the factors that influence our behavior.
• Assessing how our actions impact others: do they respond as expected and required? If not, what are the underlying reasons?

The Process for Managing Meetings for Government

• Evaluating the necessity of a meeting; considering alternatives and determining if any are more suitable.
• The structured approach to convening, managing, and preparing for meetings:
  • Developing a clear agenda that outlines the objectives, topics, and estimated times for each item.
  • Inviting only essential participants to ensure efficiency and relevance.
  • Facilitating the meeting by allowing only pertinent contributions, adhering to the agenda, and maintaining time constraints.
  • Generating outputs: while detailed minutes may not always be necessary, action points should be clearly documented.
  • Scheduling follow-up meetings as needed.

Attending Meetings for Government

• Assessing the necessity of attending all invited meetings.
• Criteria for deciding whether to attend a meeting.
• Justifications for declining meeting invitations.
• Evaluating permissible activities during meetings, considering attendees, subject matter, and timing.

Other Personal Efficiency and Time Management Issues for Government

• Setting and adhering to personal and professional objectives.
• Prioritizing Work:
  • Determining the essential tasks that need to be completed.
  • Ranking these activities based on urgency and importance.
• Evaluating whether staff and colleagues are working for you or vice versa.
• Identifying time wasters and strategies to mitigate them:
  • Email management.
  • Handling telephone calls efficiently.
  • Managing unplanned interruptions.
  • Avoiding displacement activities such as procrastination.
  • Addressing other time-consuming factors.
• Implementing effective delegation practices.
• Developing assertiveness skills: seeking compromise and learning to decline requests appropriately.