Personal Efficiency and Managing Meetings Training Course

Self-Awareness and Interpersonal Dynamics

• Recognizing that inviting others to meetings is an imposition of your priorities on their time.
• Examining the underlying factors that drive our behavior.
• Evaluating how our conduct impacts others: Are their responses consistent with our expectations and professional norms? If not, why?

The Meeting Management Framework

• Determining the necessity of a meeting, identifying alternatives, and assessing if those alternatives are more effective.
• Implementing a structured process for initiating, conducting, and preparing for meetings:
  • Developing a meaningful agenda that outlines objectives, topics, and suggested timings.
  • Inviting only essential participants and excluding those who do not need to attend.
  • Conducting the meeting by steering contributions to relevance, maintaining adherence to the agenda, and respecting time limits.
  • Documenting outcomes, ensuring at least clear action points are recorded, even if detailed minutes are not required.
  • Scheduling any necessary follow-up sessions.

Strategic Participation in Meetings

• Questioning the necessity of attending every invited meeting.
• Developing a framework for deciding when to participate and when to decline.
• Identifying valid reasons for declining invitations.
• Understanding permissible actions during meetings regarding attendee management, topic control, and timekeeping.

Advanced Personal Efficiency and Time Management

• Setting and adhering to personal and professional goals.
• Mastering Work Prioritization
  • Determining which tasks require immediate attention.
  • Establishing a clear hierarchy for completing these activities.
• Addressing Employee-Imposed Time: Assessing whether staff are supporting your objectives or if your time is being consumed by their needs.
• Mitigating 'Time Bandits': Identifying and managing other factors that drain time, including:
  • Email management
  • Telephone interruptions
  • Unplanned disruptions
  • Displacement activities such as procrastination
  • Other miscellaneous time drains
• Practicing effective delegation.
• Cultivating assertiveness: Seeking compromises and learning to say 'no' with confidence and professionalism.