supervisory skillselogbook.cpsp.edu.pk/elogbook/supervisors_workshop..."dr. ahmed, if i...

SUPERVISORY SKILLS

DAY TWO

Dealing with angry personsRules for disagreeing diplomaticallyWhat is conflict?Resolving Conflicts - Article # 1Resolving Conflicts - Article # 2 Resolving Conflicts - Article # 3Resolving Conflicts - Article # 4Learning to negotiateThe clock and the compassThe urgency indexThe urgency addictionTime management techniquesThirteen timely tips for more effectivepersonal time management

1. Define anger in not more than two lines.

2. In what ways does it manifest itself?

3. How can we recognize hidden/ suppressed anger inothers?

4. How can anger best be dealt with?

62Supervisory Skills

DEALING WITH ANGRY PERSONS

Anger is a force that can move an organization forward to improve, or,it can be a force that destroys the organization's ability to fulfill itspurpose on an everyday level. Supervisors play a critical role indetermining which of these results will come about. The way thesupervisor deals with conflict and anger will set the climate forlearners.

As a consultant and supervisor, you will come across the followingpeople who may possibly be angry, explicitly or implicitly:

● Patients● Trainees● Colleagues● Junior consultants● Administrators

There are a number of different anger/conflict situations thatsupervisors will face at one time or another. Each of these situations isslightly different, and may require different sets of skills.

The Anger Iceberg

You should be aware that the anger you see is much easier to deal withthan the anger that goes unexpressed. You should also know that thelarge proportion of anger is not expressed directly to the "boss". It isthis anger that is destructive to your setting since it will surfacecovertly through activities such as back-stabbing, un-cooperativeness,rumor spreading, and poor performance.

One important leadership task is to be alert to cues that indicate thatthere is anger sitting below the surface, unexpressed. While it may befrustrating to bear the responsibility of identifying and dealing withthe "iceberg under the surface", it is an important part of building apositive climate where conflict can be resolved. If you wait for a personto broach the subject, when it is clear there is a problem, you may besacrificing a great deal.

We are going to focus on how anger that is out in the open can be dealtwith so that there is a potential for increasing the level of respect andharmony, and by extension, productivity.


Basic Principles

1. Conflict/Angry situations become negative and destructive when they are not dealt with promptly and effectively. When the situations are dealt with properly, there is a tendency for a team to get stronger and better.

2. While angry persons may appear to want a specific issue addressed, they are looking for something else that they see as equally or more important. They want to be heard. If you don't provide a means for them to be heard, they will find other more subversive ways to be heard (and you won't like it much).

3. People around you will watch very closely to see how you handle anger directed at you. Even if you have a private discussion with an angry team member, staff will know about it. Your ability to lead will depend on your behavior, and the interpretation of your behavior.

4. Most people react to anger directed at them with a fight or flight reaction. That is there is a gut reaction which, unchecked, results in "firing back" with an aggressive manner, defending oneself, OR, avoidance. Only in rare occasions will these gut reactions result in dealing with anger effectively.

Tips and Techniques For Dealing With Overt Angry Behavior

1. When a person expresses anger, deal with it as soon as possible. That doesn't mean in two weeks! By showing a desire to make time to discuss the situation, you are showing that you are concerned, and value the person and his or her perceptions and feelings. Many performance problems reach crisis proportions as a result of delay in dealing with anger.

2. Certain situations require privacy for discussion since some people will be unwilling to air their feelings at a public venue. However, if anger is expressed here, you can develop a positive climate in the organization by dealing effectively with it in public. One technique is to ask the angry person whether he/she would like to discuss it now, or prefer to talk about it privately. Let them call the shot.

3. Always allow the person to talk. Don't interrupt. If they arehesitant to talk, encourage them by using a concerned, non-defensive tone and manner, and gently use questions. For example:"You seem a bit upset. I would like to help even if you are angry at me. What's up?"


4. If a person refuses to talk about what's bothering them, consider adjourning by saying:"I can understand that you are hesitant to talk about this, but wewould probably both be better off if we got it out in the open. Let'sleave it for a few days and come back to it" Then follow up on the conversation.

5. Respond to the person's feelings first, not the issueunderlying the feelings. Use empathy first by saying something like:"It sounds like you are pretty annoyed with me. I would like to hear your opinion".

6. Before stating "your side" or your perception of the situation, make sure you have heard what the person said. Use active listening."Dr. Ahmed, if I understand you correctly, you are angry because you feel that I have given too much work, and you feel that I don'thave any confidence in your abilities. Is that right?"

7. If the person's perceptions do not match your perceptions expressyour perceptions in a way that tries to put you and the person on the same side. Your job is not to prove the person wrong(even if they are).Trying to prove the person is incorrect is likely to increase the anger level even if you are right."Dr. Ahmed, it is sad you feel that way. Let me explain what I think has happened so you can understand my thinking. Then wecan work this out together."

8. A technique used by expert negotiators is to establish agreement about something. Before getting into the issues themselves, lay the groundwork by finding something the two of you agree on. Again, the point here is to convey the message that you are on the same side.

For example:"Dr. Ahmed, I think we agree that we don't want this issue to continue to interfere with our work. Is that correct?"

9. At the end of a discussion of this sort, check with the person to see how they are feeling. The general pattern is:a) Deal with feelings firstb) Move to issues and problem-solving c) Go back to feelings (check it out)


Ask the person if they are satisfied with the situation, or simplyask "Do you feel a bit better?" You may not always get a completely honest response, so be alert to tone of voice and non-verbal cues.If it appears that the person is still upset or angry, you may wantto let it pass for the moment. Allow the person to think about the situation away from you, then follow-up in a day or two. This is important because someone who is angry initially may "lose face"by letting the anger go immediately. Or, the person might just need time to think about your discussion.

Dealing with Angry People in the WorkplaceNo matter how well you manage yourself and your team, sometimes you get angry---and sometimes people on your team get angry. How should you deal with anger in the workplace?

1. Start with yourself. Be aware of your own feelings of anger andhow those feelings may affect your interactions and relationshipsat work. A common response when dealing with angry people is to become angry in return. Manage your own anger effectively so that you don’t make difficult situations worse.

2. Gather information. By placing yourself in the role of "information-gatherer" you de-emphasize your role as "judge of right and wrong" and diminish the potential defensive responses of the angry person. Focus on identifying the true source of the anger.

3. Plan ahead of time, but not too far ahead. Schedule a meeting with the angry person a few hours in advance---not "right this moment"---so both of you have time to prepare for a potentially difficult conversation. But don’t put off the meeting toanother day---that will only leave time for the anger to fester. Take at least a few minutes to rehearse what you are going to say… and what you are not going to say.

4. Meet on neutral ground. Find a conference room or some othersetting that is neither your space nor the space of the angry person. This way, neither of you will feel like you are meeting in hostile territory. The meeting ground should evoke impartiality.

5. Engage. Let the angry person express his/her anger.Exhibit open-mindedness, flexibility and tolerance. Listen carefully. Don’t make judgments right away. Sometimes angry people simply want to vent their anger to another person---especially a person who is in a position of authority. Even if the source of the anger cannot be addressed right away, listening is an important first step.


6. Take action. If there is a clear source of the anger, that source must be investigated. Is there a legitimate issue that requires action? If the angry person has confided in you about the source of his/her anger, there is a powerful assumption that you will at least try to do something to address that problem. If you take no action, it is likely the angry person will feel a sense of betrayal. This will only lead to more angry feelings and potentially unhealthy behavior. However, if you listen carefully, evaluate fully, and take concrete steps to address the true source of the anger, you will help to assuage the angry person’s anger. Equally important, you will use the data provided by investigating the anger to seize opportunities for improvement. That’s how you turn anger from a negative to a positive influence in your workplace.

http://www.rainmakerthinking.com/backwttw/2001/aug17.htm

Three additional strategies may help handle others' anger:

1. Use the person's name. This will help you get the angry person's attention.

2. Slow down and lower your voice. When someone is very angry, his or her speech will usually be very rapid. Slowing down your rate of speech and lowering your voice may lead the angry person to a more reasonable tone.

3. Sit down. Sitting makes you less intimidating. It also slows an angry person's rapid thoughts and words. Ask the angry person to take a seat beside you as you discuss the problem. Sitting next to a person (versus across from them) is a more supportive position.

4. Remember to use "verbal-judo," i.e. using verbal rather than physical force.■ Give the person the last word. You have the last act.■ Let the person save face. You just try to control the situation. ■ Separate the out of control person from the situation. (Some

people love an audience when they are out of control.) ■ Do not give ultimatums that can not be implemented. ■ Provide the person with alternatives to the situation.

Make them feel that they are empowered.

http://www.cccoe.net/social/PVSangrypeople.htm


Dealing with Disruptive People

Occasionally, students become extremely agitated and disruptive.

If you find yourself in this situation, consider these suggestions:1. Evaluate your response options quickly and then select one of

your prearranged action plans.2. Present a calm, serious appearance.3. Speak softly. 4. Talk in a non-judgmental manner (don't "shame and blame" or

patronize).5. Put physical space between you and the other person. You may

want to have a piece of furniture, such as a desk, between the twoof you.

6. Try to have someone else with you for help and support. 7. Encourage the person to talk to you and explain the situation

from his/her perspective. 8. Try to not let the person stand between you and an exit.9. Don't make promises you can't keep.


ANTICIPATED ARSON

A21 year old man is brought by five men and three women to the E/R.He has received 3 gun shots, one in the chest, one in the right arm andone in the abdomen. His pulse is thready and barely palpable, his bloodpressure is not appearing on the aneroid BP apparatus available in theE/R. Bleeding externally is not profuse.

You manage the patient as quickly as possible and to the best ofresources and competence but he expires just before you were going toshift him to the OT.

You are afraid the relatives of this patient will get abusive anddisruptive when you break the news to them.

What should you do?


THE FURIOUS FATHER A one month old baby boy is brought to your OPD with a fever of 1050

and neck rigidity. He is managed and admitted in your ward. 42 hours

later bacterial meningitis is confirmed by CSF C/S report. By the

fourth day after admission, his fever comes down to 103 0 and his TLC

shows improvement. The house officer informs the parents and

relatives that all is under control and that they will be able to take the

child home within a week.

The next day the baby develops hyperpyrexia again, has 2 episodes of

fits and dies a little later.

The father of the child is furious and is hunting for the doctor. He is

abusive and is threatening to kill the doctor who "killed his son". How

can this situation be managed?


FOUND AND LOST You and your dear colleague, with whom you have been on very good

terms for a few years, are due for a promotion to an immediately senior

level for which there is only a single post / seat. You get selected and

he/she doesn’t.

A week later you notice that he/she is avoiding talking to you. The

frequency of calls and funny sms has reduced. You guess the reason but

are unsure and reluctant as to how to deal with the situation. A few

days later you get news from common friends that this friend is really

angry at you since he/she thinks that you had used unfair means to get

the post (whereas in actuality you hadn’t).


STAB IN THE BACK You had painstakingly gathered cases of a disease that interests you

and is rare in Pakistan. After collecting information from 15 cases over

a period of three years you get it analysed and share the findings with

a close colleague by lending him the floppy with your analysis on it.

Intending to write a paper on it soon, you store the floppy with the data

and slowly progress with your literature search.

Six months later someone points out that an article has been published

in an indexed journal in Pakistan with data similar to yours but with

a different author’s name. You quickly get hold of that article and find

out that your colleague with whom you had shared your data has

published the findings in his name without even bothering to give you

the slightest bit of credit.

Your are furious.

How do you deal with your emotions and the situation?


THE LION AND THE MOUSEDr. shams is a 3rd year trainee who irritates you mainly because his

work is below average, he is not well groomed, he is lazy, slow to

understand and doesn’t comply with your orders/ instruction till he

gets a ‘good shouting’ from you. The day you shout at him, he starts

working well for about a week, after which his performance in the ward

again starts deteriorating.

Today during the ward round when you begrudgingly approach his

bed, with anger boiling inside you since you ‘know’ something is about

to go wrong, you start listening to him present the case. Cutting his

miserable presentation mid way, impatiently you ask him "Dr. Saab

did you get the results of the tests that I had ordered the day before

yesterday?"

Dr. Shams looks at you blank faced. His face, then, turns from a deep

crimson to a pale yellow as he realizes that he had forgotten to collect

the said reports from the lab.

You instantly know what has happened from his expressions.

Suddenly there is pin drop silence in the ward, particularly around

you, as people sense what is about to happen.

And happen it does!

All hell breaks loose and you let the trainee have it.

Having vented your anger yet again, you leave the ward round, too

drained to go on and storm into you room, having instructed your

junior to continue with the round. At the top of your voice you vow to

create so much hell for Dr. Shams that he and his progeny will not be

able to come near FCPS ever again!

Could this situation have been dealt with differently and better? If so,

how?


WHAT IS CONFLICT?

Conflict appears in a social situation as any disagreement over issues

of substance or emotional antagonisms that create frictions between

individuals or groups. Conflict can be either emotional – based on

personal feelings – or substantive – based on work goals. Both forms

can be harmful in organizations if, as a result, individuals and / or

groups are unable to work constructively with one another. When kept

within tolerable limits, conflict can be a source of creativity and

performance enhancement; it becomes destructive when these limits

are exceeded.

What conflict situations occur in institutions?Conflict situations in institutions occur in vertical and lateral working

relations and in line-staff relations. Often, they result from work-flow

interdependencies and resource scarcities. Most typically, conflict

develops through a series of stages, beginning with antecedent

conditions and progressing into manifest conflict. The conflict may or

may not be entirely "resolved" in the sense that the underlying reasons

for the emotional and / or substantive conflict are eliminated.

Unresolved prior conflicts set the stage for future conflicts of a similar

nature.

How can supervisor deal with conflict?Conflict management should always proceed with the goal of true

conflict resolution. Indirect forms of conflict management include

appeal to common goals, hierarchical referral, organizational redesign,

and the use of mythology and scripts. Direct conflict management

proceeds with different combinations of assertiveness and

cooperativeness on the part of conflicting parties. Win – win conflict is

achieved through collaboration and problem solving most often

associated with high assertiveness and high cooperation. Win – lose

conflict usually occurs through direct competitions or authoritative

command. Lose – lose conflict is typically found as a result of

avoidance, smoothing, and compromise approaches.


What is negotiation?Negotiation in organizations occurs whenever two or more people withdifferent preferences must make joint decisions. Managers may findthemselves involved in various types of negotiation situations,including two-party group & negotiation, in which both substancegoals and relationships goals are at stake. Effective negotiation occurs when issues of substance are resolved andhuman relationships are maintained, or even improved, in the process.To achieve such results, ethical conduct must be carefully maintained,even as negotiating parties represent viewpoints and preferences thatdiffer greatly from one another.

What are the different approaches to negotiation?Different approaches to negotiation can have very different results. Indistributive negotiation, the focus of each party is on staking outpositions in the attempt to claim desired portions of a "fixed pie." Inintegrative negotiation, sometimes called principled negotiation, thefocus is on determining the merits of the issues and finding ways tosatisfy one another’s needs. The distributive approach is oftenassociated with individual styles of competition (the "hard" approach)or accommodation (the "soft" approach). The integrative approachideally leads to some form of "collaboration" or problem solving toachieve a mutually desirable solution.

How should good supervisor deal with negotiation? The success of managers in gaining integrative agreements depends onthe parties’ willingness and ability to communicate positive attitudes,share and obtain relevant information, and separate the "people"issues from the real "problem." In classic two-party negotiations, it isimportant to understand the BATNA – “Best Alternative To aNegotiated Agreement” – and the "bargaining zone." This zonerepresents the overlap between one party’s minimum reservationpoint – the "least" they are willing to accept – and the other party’smaximum reservation point – the "most" they are willing to give.Complex group and interpersonal dynamics may cause difficulties innegotiations. Typical problems include individual misperceptions ofthe negotiating parties and an inability to communicate well in thenegotiation process.


RULES FOR DISAGREEINGDIPLOMATICALLY

Regardless of the type of conflict you are dealing with, there areseveral general rules of thumb you should follow whenever you aretrying to bring harmony to a volatile situation. Here they are.

● Reflect your understanding of the other's position or opinion. "Ifeel,think, want, etc." This says, "I am listening to your opinion andI take your opinion into account before I state mine."

● Let the other person know that you value him/her as a person eventhough his/her opinion is different from yours. "I understand(appreciate, respect, see how you feel that way, etc.)". This says, "Ihear you and respect your opinion."

● State your position or opinion. "I feel, think, want, etc." This says, "Idon't agree, but I value you - so let's exchange ideas comfortably, notas a contest for superiority."

To become a good conflict manager requires a lot of practice. Justremember that the goal is to reach a compromise that both of you canlive with as well as be happy with. In other words, find a way that bothof you can walk away feeling like a winner!

Conflicts in interpersonal relationships: Sometimes ininterpersonal relationships, such as those between you and one of youremployees, there may be a conflict that you are not aware of. Ifsomeone who is normally upbeat and friendly towards you suddenlybegins avoiding you or being rude, there is usually a reason. If theperson has remained cheerful with everyone else except you, chancesare you are dealing with a conflict situation. In these instances, youwill want to address the problem by proceeding through the followingsteps.

● Try to determine if there is a problem between you and the otherperson.

● If you think there is a problem, set up a private face-to-face meetingto discuss the problem with the other person.


● In a nonconfrontational manner, ask the person if there is aproblem. If his/her answer is "No", inform the person that you thinkthere is a problem and explain what you think the problem is.

● As you talk, ask for feedback. Do not "attack" the other person withaccusations.

● Try to listen to each other with open minds. ● Be sure to respect each other's opinions. ● Take a few minutes to recycle the other person's opinions in your

mind. ● Try to determine why the other person felt the way he/she did. ● Avoid "finger-pointing." ● Try to work out a compromise that pleases both of you.

Conflicts in meetings: Conflicts in meetings can be very disruptive.But they can also be very helpful. Remember, conflicts aredisagreements. If the person who is disagreeing with you is raisingvalid questions, it may benefit the group to address the issues they arepresenting. In fact, by listening to them, you may gain valuable insightinto what is and what is not working within your organization.However, if the person continues past the point of disagreement to thepoint of disruptiveness, specific steps should be taken. Below is a listof conflict resolution tactics that you can use for meetings that get "outof control."

● Find some "grain of truth" in the other person's position that you canbuild upon.

● Identify areas of agreement in the two positions. ● Defer the subject to later in the meeting to handle.● Document the subject and set it aside to discuss in the next meeting.● Ask to speak with the individual after the meeting or during a

break.● See if someone else in the meeting has a response or

recommendation. ● Present your view, but do not force agreement. Let things be and go

on to the next topic. ● Agree that the person has a valid point and there may be some way

to make the situation work for both parties. ● Create a compromise.


RESOLVING CONFLICTS - ARTICLE # 1

Some important points to keep in mind:

● Deal with difficult issues sooner rather than later. Delaying

intervention only allows hurt feelings and resentment to increase.

● Do not ignite conflict through behavior that causes defensiveness or

counterattacks. Supervisors who threaten, degrade, lack patience,

or behave unprofessionally invite conflict. Avoid hot-button or

demoralizing words and phrases such as "constantly," "never," or "I

hate it when you……."

● Take notice of nonverbal cues that indicate people are upset. Sighs,

tense body posture, or sarcasm may mean trouble is brewing.

● People feel less threatened when treated with respect. They become

defensive when they are not given the benefit of the doubt.

Supervisors must know when the other party needs to save face and

when a conflict is simply not worth provoking or lengthening.

● Avoid arguments. Sometimes juniors need to vent, and their

concerns and comments are not necessarily meant to be personal.

Experienced supervisors will acknowledge the areas of concerns and

help steer the discussion to a productive action plan.

● Sometimes it helps just to listen and to help guide a troubled trainee

in solving his or her own problem. Simply lending an ear can often

diffuse the strong emotions associated with frustrating problems

that, it left without an outlet, can grow into major conflicts.

Perhaps the least recognized way of dealing better with workers’

conflicts is to lower your own tension level. Make a habit of both

mental and physical stress-reducing exercises. Sometimes it helps to

vent your frustrations to a trustworthy confidant outside the

organization. When you have rid yourself of your own baggage, you are

better prepared to hear and talk about tough issues.



Many times conflicts arise because individuals or groups are trying tocontrol resources in pursuit of their own goals. Some ways in whichsupervisors can ward off conflict within the organization are to:

● Allocate resources fairly. Most institutions have a shortage of somesupplies or materials. Supervisors will avoid conflicts if resourcesare distributed fairly without any appearance of favoritism. Ifsupervisors must allocate resources to one worker versus another,the decision must be made openly, with an acceptable explanationbased upon business needs.

● Clearly state your expectations. Many conflicts arise becauseworkers judge that their contributions to patient care are moreimportant, or viewed as less important, than those of other doctors.Sometimes supervisors spark these types of disagreements bystressing the goals of one department over another, rather thanfocusing on the goals of the entire institution. A supervisors role isto set priorities but also to ensure that all members understand thevalue of their roles and their importance within the team.

● Avoid sudden unexplained changes in processes. Workers becomecomfortable with routines and avoid change, especially changewithout explanation. When change is necessary, supervisors mustoffer explanations and provide training to help prevent undue stressand the development of conflicts.

● Address workers’ fears. When there is change in an organization,many workers become fearful. Even with explanations, manyworkers will feel threatened. Supervisors may not be in control of allthe changes, but they should be willing to openly and honestlydiscuss workers’ concerns. Reassuring your juniors and colleagueswill alleviate potential conflict.

It is up to the chief consultant / head of the unit to clearly state thepurpose of the training as a whole and the role of each member inachieving the departments vision. A supervisor who openly discussesthe challenges of the unit, who manages consistently and fairly, andwho is available to alleviate rumors and fears will do much to limitconflicts.



Personality conflicts are most often responsible for unrest in aworkplace. The supervisor must promote better relationships amongcolleagues and juniors to avoid conflicts. There are four ways in whichsomeone can view a relationship. Eric L. Berne, a psychiatrist andauthor of the bestselling book “Games People Play” (1964), developed amethod to analyze relationships in social situations. This method iscalled "Transactional Analysis" and, to illustrate, let’s suppose:

1. A trainee comes in late every day and, when confronted by hissupervisor, comments that the supervisor is also late for workdaily. In this case, both worker and supervisor have a negativeview of each other.

2. A trainee cannot complete a task without continuous guidance.This worker has a negative view of his own abilities, but places apositive faith in his supervisor to guide him. This person lacks self-esteem and needs continuous guidance, reassurance, andsupervision. His supervisor should help him to become moreindependent.

3. A trainee is given an assignment and questions his supervisorabout its purpose. The supervisor responds with, "Because I saidso." The supervisor’s attitude towards his subordinate is like thatof a parent toward an immature child. The worker may resent thissupervisor’s attitude and lose enthusiasm for the task at hand.This scenario shows that the supervisor thinks positively ofhimself, but has a negative view of his workers. A manager,however, must strive to instill a sense of pride andaccomplishment in his or her workers. It is a costly error to treatstaff as if they are children who can’t understand.

4. Finally, a supervisor might say to a trainee, "You’ve requested thenext holiday off but I need to explain why I can’t give it to you atthis time." The employee might respond, "I understand and I’llwork that day, but I’m disappointed since I expected that day off."They both might then agree to a compromise, such as the employeereceiving the next two holidays off. In this type of relationship,both the employee and employer have a positive attitude towardeach other.

The first three approaches are negative situations that will only serveto keep conflicts going. The last example, however, encourages honesty, respect, and compromise.



Conflict occurs when individuals or groups are not obtaining what theyneed or want and are seeking their own self-interest. Sometimes theindividual is not aware of the need and unconsciously starts to act out.Other times, the individual is very aware of what he or she wants andactively works at achieving the goal.

About conflict:

● Conflict is inevitable; ● Conflict develops because we are dealing with people's lives, jobs,

children, pride, self-concept, ego and sense of mission or purpose; ● Early indicators of conflict can be recognized; ● There are strategies for resolution that are available and DO work; ● Although inevitable, conflict can be minimized, diverted and/or

resolved.

Beginnings of conflict:

● Poor communication ● Seeking power ● Dissatisfaction with management style ● Weak leadership ● Lack of openness ● Change in leadership

Conflict indicators:

● Body language ● Disagreements, regardless of issue ● Withholding bad news ● Surprises ● Strong public statements ● Airing disagreements through media ● Conflicts in value system ● Desire for power ● Increasing lack of respect ● Open disagreement ● Lack of candor on budget problems or other sensitive issues ● Lack of clear goals ● No discussion of progress, failure relative to goals, failure to

evaluate fairly, thoroughly or at all.


Conflict is destructive when it:

● Takes attention away from other important activities ● Undermines morale or self-concept ● Polarizes people and groups, reducing cooperation ● Increases or sharpens difference ● Leads to irresponsible and harmful behavior, such as fighting,

name-calling

Conflict is constructive when it:

● Results in clarification of important problems and issues ● Results in solutions to problems ● Involves people in resolving issues important to them ● Causes authentic communication ● Helps release emotion, anxiety, and stress ● Builds cooperation among people through learning more about each

other; ● Helps individuals develop understanding and skills

Techniques for avoiding and/or resolving conflict:

● Meet conflict head on ● Set goals ● Plan for and communicate frequently ● Be honest about concerns ● Agree to disagree - understand healthy disagreement would build

better decisions ● Get individual ego out of management style ● Let your team create - people will support what they help create ● Discuss differences in values openly ● Continually stress the importance of following policy ● Communicate honestly - avoid playing "gotcha" type games ● Provide more data and information than is needed ● Develop a sound management system

Courageous decision controversies:

The controversies usually involve:

● Changes in the way "we've always done things" ● Notions of fundamental values ● Determined, articulate advocates for every side ● Inability to compromise ● Rampant rumors ● Threats of retaliation at the polls at school ● Board election


Resolving Conflict:

Searching for the causes of conflict is essential to be successful inresolving the conflict. Eight possible causes of conflict include:

1. Conflict with self

2. Needs or wants are not being met

3. Values are being tested

4. Perceptions are being questioned

5. Assumptions are being made

6. Knowledge is minimal

7. Expectations are too high/too low

8. Personality, race, or gender differences are present

Reaching Consensus through Collaboration:

Groups often collaborate closely in order to reach consensus oragreement. The ability to use collaboration requires the recognition ofand respect for everyone's ideas, opinions, and suggestions. Consensusrequires that each participant must agree on the point being discussedbefore it becomes a part of the decision. Not every point will meet witheveryone's complete approval. Unanimity is not the goal. The goal is tohave individuals accept a point of view based on logic. Whenindividuals can understand and accept the logic of a differing point ofview, you must assume you have reached consensus.

Follow these guidelines for reaching consensus:

● Avoid arguing over individual ranking or position. Present a positionas logically as possible.

● Avoid "win-lose" statements. Discard the notion that someone mustwin.

● Avoid changing of minds only in order to avoid conflict and toachieve harmony.

● Avoid majority voting, averaging, bargaining, or coin flipping. Thesedo not lead to consensus. Treat differences of opinion as indicative ofincomplete sharing of relevant information, keep asking questions.

● Keep the attitude that holding different views is both natural andhealthy to a group.

● View initial agreement as suspect. Explore the reasons underlyingapparent agreement and make sure that members have willinglyagreed.


THE FOUR C»S OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

COMMUNICATE:Don’t avoid one another, and don’t avoid the problem;

deal with the issue

COOPERATE:Work together on finding out exactly what the problem is.

Try to find all sources of the problem

COMPROMISEFigure out a solution that is good for both parties involved.

Be willing to reach a common ground.

CONSOLIDATE:Put the agreement in writing, or in some other form that

establishes its validity

With the 4 C’s fulfilled, Conflicts can be thoroughly resolvedand relationships can once again be productive

(http://studentaffairs. shu.edu/community/standards/PeerMediation/conflictresolution.html)


LEARNING TO NEGOTIATE

Do you avoid negotiating because it is stressful, intimidating, orunpleasant? Do you shy away from potential disagreements withtrainees, higher level personnel, peers, or friends? Are you afraid ofcreating a hostile environment? Don’t be! Whether you realized it ornot, you have had practice negotiating your whole life. Every time youcompromised with your parents over toys, allowances, curfews, orhousehold chores, you were negotiating. Further, the art of negotiatingis a priceless tool. Knowing how to negotiate can improve your personalposition and that of the institution you represent. The following areseveral ways to help ensure successful negotiations.

Negotiation Preparation:

● Determine what you want out of the negotiation.

● Determine what the opposition wants out of the negotiation and whythey want it.

● Determine beforehand what points can and cannot be conceded andwhat circumstances will make you willing to walk away without anyagreement.

● Do your homework. Know your facts and supporting evidence. Knowyour opponent.

Negotiating Techniques:

● Strive for a win-win agreement. The most successful negotiationmakes everyone feel they have won.

● Keep in mind that nearly everything is negotiable.

● Understand what others are saying-both their words and theirunderlying meanings.

● Select the time and place for the negotiations.

● Set the guidelines and control the negotiations.

● Be fair.

● Be creative.

● Attack the problem, not the negotiator. Do not become emotional.

● Understand what the best alternative to a negotiated agreementwould be from both your and your opponent’s perspective.


Becoming a successful negotiator can help build self-confidence, reduce

conflict, and ultimately lead to improved productivity. As with other

skills, practice makes perfect, so use each negotiation experience as a

learning tool.

Common Pitfalls in Negotiation

The negotiation process is admittedly complex, and it is further

characterized by all the possible confusions of sometimes volatile

interpersonal and group dynamics. Accordingly, individual negotiators

need to guard against some common mistakes. These common

negotiator pitfalls include:

1. Falling prey to the myth of the "fixed pie"

2. Nonrational escalation of conflict

3. Over confidence and ignoring other’s needs

It is too easy in negotiation to stake out your position based on the

assumption that in order to gain your way, something must be

"subtracted" from the other party’s way. This myth of the "fixed pie" is

a purely distributive approach to negotiation. The whole concept of

integrative negotiation is based on the premise that the "pie" can

sometimes be expanded and/or utilized to the maximum advantage of

all parties, not just one.

Because parties to negotiations often begin by stating extreme

demands, the possibility of escalating commitment is high. That is,

once "demands" have been stated, people become committed to them

and are reluctant to back down. As a result, they may be prone to

nonrational escalation of conflict. Concerns for "protecting one’s ego"

and "saving face" may further enhance these tendencies. Self discipline

is needed to spot this tendency in one’s own behavior as well as other’s.


It is also common for negotiators to develop the belief that their

positions are the only "correct" ones. This is characterized by

overconfidence and ignoring other’s needs. In some cases, negotiators

completely fail to see merits in the other party’s position-merits that an

outside observer would be sure to spot. Such overconfidence makes it

harder to reach a positive common agreement. It may even set the

stage for disappointment if the negotiation is turned over to a neutral

third party for resolution.

In arbitration, such as the salary arbitration now common in

professional sports, this third party acts as the " judge" and issues a

binding decision after listening to the positions advanced by the

parties involved in a dispute.


THE CLOCK AND THE COMPASSOur struggle to put first things first can be characterized by the

contrast between two powerful tools that direct us: the clock and the

compass. The clock represents our commitments, appointments,

schedules, goals, activities – what we do with and how we manage our

time. The compass represents our vision. Values, principles, mission,

conscience direction – what we feel is important and how we lead our

lives.

The struggle comes when we sense a gap between the clock and the

compass – when what we do doesn’t contribute to what is most

important in our lives.

For some of us, the pain of the gap is intense. We can’t seem to walk

our way. We feel trapped, controlled by other people or situations.

We’re always responding to crises. We’re constantly caught up in "the

thick of thin things" putting out fires and never making time to do

what we know would make a difference. We feel as though our lives are

being lived for us.

For others of us, the pain is a vague discomfort. We just can’t get what

we feel we should do, what we want to do, and what we actually do all

together. We’re caught in dilemmas. We feel so guilty over what we’re

not doing, we can’t enjoy what we do.

Some of us feel empty. We’ve defined happiness solely in terms of

professional or financial achievement, and we find that our "success"

did not bring us the satisfaction we thought it would. We’ve

painstakingly climbed the "ladder of success" rung by rung - the

diploma, the late nights, the promotions – only to discover as we

reached the top rung that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.

Absorbed in the ascent, we’ve left a trail of shattered relationships or

missed moments of deep, rich living in the wake of the intense,

overfocused effort. In our race up the rungs, we simply did not take the

time to do what really mattered most.


Others of us feel disoriented or confused. We have no real sense of what

"first things" are. We move from one activity to another on automatic.

Life is mechanical. Once in a while, we wonder if there’s any meaning

in our doing.

Some of us know we’re out of balance, but we don’t have confidence in

other alternatives. Or we feel the cost of change is too high. Or we’re

afraid to try. It’s easier to just live with the imbalance.



I● Crises● Pressing problems● Deadline driven projects,

meetings preparations

III● Interruptions, some phone calls● Some mail, some reports● Some meetings● Many proximate, pressing

matters● Many popular activities

II● Preparation● Prevention● Values clarification● Planning● Relationship building● True re-creation● Empowerment

IV● Trivia, busywork● Junk mail● Some phone calls● Time wasters● "Escape" activitiesN

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Urgent Not Urgent

THE URGENCY INDEXCircle the number (0-4) along the matrix that most closely representsyour normal behaviors or attitudes regarding the statements at the right(0 = Never, 1= rarely, 2= sometimes, 3= often, 4 = Always).

1. I seem to do my best work when I’m under pressure.

2. I often blame the rush and press of external things for my

failure to spend deep, introspective time with myself.

3. I’ m often frustrated by the slowness of people and things

around me. I hate to wait or stand in line.

4. I feel guilty when I take time off work.

5. I always seem to be rushing between places and events.

6. I frequently find myself pushing people away so that

I can finish a project.

7. I feel anxious when I’m out of touch with the office for

more than a few minutes.

8. I’m often preoccupied with one thing when I’m doing

something else.

9. I’m at my best when I’m handling a crisis situation.

10. The adrenaline rush from a new crisis seems more satisfying

to me than the steady accomplishment of long-term results.

11. I often give up quality time with important people in

my life to handle a crisis.

12. I assume people will naturally understand if I have to

disappoint them or let things go in order to handle a crisis.

13. I rely on solving some crisis to give my day a sense of

meaning and purpose.

14. I often eat lunch or other meals while I work.

15. I keep thinking that someday I’II be able to do what

I really want to do.

16. A huge stack in my "out" basket at the end of the day

makes me feel like l’ve really been productive.

Total of Your Scores


THE URGENCY ADDICTIONAnything less than a conscious commitment to the important

is an unconscious commitmentto the unimportant

As we begin this chapter, take a moment to consider your answer to thefollowing question:

What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well andconsistently would have significant positive results in your personallife?

What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well andconsistently would have significant positive results in yourprofessional or work life?

If you know these things would make such a significant difference, whyare you not doing them now?

As you consider your response, let’s look at the two primary factorsthat drive our choices concerning how we use our time: urgency andimportance. Although we deal with both factors, one of them is thebasic paradigm through which we view our time and our lives.

The fourth generation is based on the "importance" paradigm.Knowing and doing what’s important rather than simply responding towhat’s urgent is foundational to putting first things first.

As you go through this chapter we’ll ask you to examine your ownparadigms carefully. Whether you’re operating from a paradigm ofurgency or one of importance has a profound effect on the results you’regetting in your life.


UrgencyFew of us realize how powerfully urgency affects our choices. Thephone rings. The baby cries. Someone knocks at the door. A deadlineapproaches."I need this now""I’m in a jam, can you come right over?""You’re late for your appointment"How much does urgency control your life? We’d like to suggest that youtake a few moments and look at some of the attitudes and behaviorsthat grow out of it as reflected in the Urgency Index on the followingpage. The degree to which you relate to the statements in the Indexwill give you some idea of the extent to which you may be looking atlife through a paradigm of urgency. As you read each statement, markthe number on the continuum that best describes your response. After going through the Index, add up your total score and measureyourself with the following key:

0-25 Low urgency mind-set26-45 Strong urgency mind-set46+ Urgency addiction

If most of your responses are on the low end, the urgency paradigm isprobably not a significant factor in your life. If they’re in the middle ortoward the higher end, there’s a good chance urgency is yourfundamental operational paradigm. If your responses are consistentlyhigh, urgency may be more than just the way you see. It may actuallybe an addiction.

The Urgency Addiction


The Addictive Experience

1. Creates predictable, reliable sensations

2. Becomes the primary focus and absorbs attention

3. Temporarily eradicates pain and other negative sensations

4. Provides artificial sense of self-worth, power, control, security, intimacy, accomplishment

5. Exacerbates the problems and feelings it is sought to remedy

6. Worsens functioning, creates loss of relationships

Some of us get so used to the adrenaline rush of handling crises thatwe become dependent on it for a sense of excitement and energy. Howdoes urgency feel? Stressful? Pressured? Exhausting? Sure. But let’s behonest. It’s also sometimes exhilarating. We feel useful. We feelsuccessful. We feel validated. And we get good at it. Whenever there’strouble, we ride into town, pull out our six shooter, do the varmint in,blow the smoke off the gun barrel, and ride into the sunset like a hero.It brings instant results and instant gratification.

We get a temporary high from solving urgent and important crises.Then when the importance isn’t there, the urgency fix is so powerfulwe are drawn to do anything urgent, just to stay in motion.

People expect us to be busy, overworked. It’s become a status symbol inour society – if we’re busy, we’re important; if we’re not busy, we’realmost embarrassed to admit it. Busyness is where we get our security.It’s validating, popular, and pleasing. It’s also a good excuse for notdealing with the first things in our lives.

"I’d love to spend quality time with you, but I have to work. There’s thisdeadline. It’s urgent. Of course you understand."

"I just don’t have time to exercise. I know it’s important, but there areso many pressing things right now. Maybe when things slow down alittle."

Urgency addiction is a self-destructive behavior that temporarily fillsthe void created by unmet needs. And instead of meeting these needs,the tools and approaches of time management often feed the addiction.They keep us focused on daily prioritization of the urgent.

Addiction to urgency is every bit as dangerous as other commonlyrecognized dependencies. The following list of characteristics comesout of recovery literature not even connected with time management.It deals primarily with addiction to such things as chemicalsubstances, gambling, and overeating. But look at the similarities!

How well these characteristics describe urgency addiction! And oursociety is literally inundated with it. Everywhere we turn, urgencyaddiction is reinforced in our lives and in our culture.


FIRST THINGS FIRSTRoger: At one of our programs, I’d just gone through the UrgencyIndex with a group of senior executives from a multinational firm. Atthe break, the senior manager form Australia came up to me with awry smile of his face. "I can’t believe it!" he exclaimed. "I amabsolutely addicted! It’s the whole culture of our business. We livefrom crisis to crisis. Nothing ever gets g done until somebody says it’surgent."

As he was speaking, the number two man in his operation came upbeside him and nodded his head in agreement. Thy joked about theirsituation for a minute, but their joking had a serious undertone.Then the senior manager turned to me ad said, "you know, when thisman joined our company, he wasn’t that way. But now he is too."

His eyes opened wide with sudden realization. "You know what?" heasked. "I’m not only an addict – I’m a pusher!"

It’s important to realize that urgency itself is not the problem. Theproblem is that when urgency is the dominant factor in our lives,importance isn’t. What we regard as "first things" are urgent things.We’re so caught up in doing, we don’t even stop to ask if what we’redoing really needs to be done. As a result, we exacerbate the gapbetween the compass and the clock. As Charles Hummel observes inhis booklet, Tyranny of the Urgent:

The important task rarely must be done today, or even this week,…..The urgent task calls for instant action …….. The momentary appealof these tasks seems irresistible and important, and they de your ourenergy. But in the light of time’s perspective, their deceptiveprominence fades; with a sense of loss we recall the vital task wepushed aside. We realize we’ve become slaves to the tyranny of theurgent.

Many of the traditional time management tools actually feed theaddiction. Daily planning and "to do" lists essentially keep us focusedon prioritizing and doing the urgent. And the more urgency we havein our lives, the less importance we have.


Importance: Many important things that contribute to our overall objectives andgive richness and meaning to life don’t tend to act upon us or pressus. Because they’re not "urgent," they are the things that we must actupon.

In order to focus on the issues of urgency and importance moreeffectively, let’s look at the Time Management Matrix below. As youcan see it categorizes our activities into four quadrants. We spendtime in one of these four ways:

Quadrant I represents things that are both "urgent" and"important." Here’s where we handle an irate client, meet a deadline,repair a broken-down machine, undergo heart surgery, or help acrying child who has been hurt. We need to spend time in QuadrantI. This is where we manage, where we produce, where we bring ourexperience and judgment to bear in responding to many needs andchallenges. If we ignore it, we become buried alive. But we also needto realize that many important activities become urgent throughprocrastination, or because we don’t do enough prevention andplanning.


I● Crises● Pressing problems● Deadline – driven projects

meetings preparations

III● Interruptions, some phone calls● Some mail, some reports● Some meetings● Many proximate, pressing

matters● Many popular activities

II● Preparation● Prevention● Values clarification● Planning● Relationship building● True re-creation● Empowerment

IV● Trivia, busywork● Junk mail● Some phone calls● Time wasters● "Escape" activitiesN

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Urgent Not Urgent

Quadrant II includes activities that are "important, but noturgent." This is the Quadrant of Quality. Here’s where we do our longrange planning, anticipate and prevent problems, empower others,broaden our minds and increase our skills through reading andcontinuous professional development, envision how we’re going tohelp a struggling son or daughter, prepare for important meetingsand presentations, or invest in relationships through deep, honestlistening. Increasing time spent in its quadrant increases our abilityto do. Ignoring this quadrant feeds and enlarges Quadrant I, creatingstress, burnout, and deeper crises for the person consumed by it. Onthe other hand, investing in this quadrant shrinks Quadrant I.Planning, preparation, and prevention keep many things frombecoming urgent. Quadrant II does not act on us; we must act on it.This is the Quadrant of personal leadership.

Quadrant III is almost the phantom of Quadrant I. It includesthings that are " urgent, but not important." This is the Quadrant ofDeception. The noise of urgency creates the illusion of importance.But the actual activities, if they’re important at all, are onlyimportant to someone else. Many phone calls, meetings, and drop-invisitors fall into this category. We spend a lot of time in Quadrant IIImeeting other people’s priorities and expectations, thinking we’rereally in Quadrant I.

Quadrant IV is reserved for those activities that are "not urgentand not important." This is the Quadrant of Waste. Of course, wereally shouldn’t be there at all. But we get so battle-scarred frombeing tossed around in Quadrants I and III that we often "escape" toQuadrant IV for survival. What kinds of things are in Quadrant IV?Not necessarily recreational things, because recreation in the truesense of re-creation is a valuable Quadrant II activity. But readingaddictive light novels, habitually watching "mindless" televisionshows, or gossiping around the water fountain at the office wouldqualify as Quadrant IV time waster. Quadrant IV is not survival; it’sdeterioration. It may have an initial cotton candy feel, but we quicklyfind there’s nothing there.

We’d like to suggest now that you look at the Time ManagementMatrix and think back over the past week of your life. If you were toplace each of your last week’s activities in one of these quadrants,where would you say you spent the majority of your time?


Think carefully as you consider Quadrants I and III. It’s easy tothink because something is urgent, it’s important. A quick way todifferentiate between these two quadrants is to ask yourself if theurgent activity contributed to an important objective. If not, itprobably belongs in Quadrant III.

If you’re like most of the people we work with there’s a good chanceyou spent the majority of your time in Quadrants I and III. Andwhat’s the cost? If urgency is driving you, what important things –maybe even "first things" – are not receiving your time andattention?

Think again about the questions you answered at the first of thechapter:

What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well andconsistently would have significant positive results in your personallife?

What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well andconsistently would have significant positive results in yourprofessional or work life?

Analyze what quadrant your answers are in. Our guess is thatthey’re probably in Quadrant II. As we’ve asked these questions ofthousands of people, we find that a great majority of them fall underseven key activities:

1. Improving communication with people2. Better preparation3. Better planning and organizing4. Taking better care of self5. Seizing new opportunities6. Personal development7. Empowerment

All of these are in Quadrant II. They’re important.So why aren’t people doing them? Why aren’t you doing the thingsyou identified from the questions above?

Probably because they’re not urgent. They aren’t pressing. They don’tact on you. You have to act on them.


The Importance Paradigm:Clearly, we deal with both factors – urgency and importance – in ourlives. But in our day-today decision making, one of these factors tendsto dominate. Were problem comes when we operate primarily from aparadigm of urgency rather than a paradigm of importance.

When we operate out of the importance paradigm, we live inQuadrants I and II. We’re out of Quadrants III and IV, and as we spendmore time in preparation, prevention, planning, and empowerment, wedecrease the amount of time we spend putting out fires in Quadrant I.Even the nature of Quadrant I changes. Most of the time, we’re thereby choice rather than default. We may even choose to make somethingurgent or timely because it’s important.

An associate shared this experience:Recently one of my friends was going through a crisis in herrelationship. I was extremely busy with home and work, but wasmanaging to keep on top of things and maintain my personal renewaltime. One day in particular, I was scheduled for three meetings, somecar service, shopping, and an important lunch date when she called. Iknew immediately that she was having a really rough day and quicklydecided to shelve my other activities and make the hour drive to herhome. I knew that my next day would be heavy in Quadrant I activitiesbecause there were things I wasn’t going to be able to do today inpreparation. But this was important, very important. I chose to placemyself in a position where I would live with urgency, but it was adecision I could feel good about. In our seminars we often ask people to identify the feelings theyassociate with the different paradigms. When they talk about urgency,they typically use words such as "stressed out," "used up," "unfulfilled"and "worn out." But when they talk about importance they use wordslike "confident," "fulfilled," "on track," "meaningful," and "peaceful."You might try this exercise yourself. How do you feel when operatingfrom one paradigm or the other? These feelings can tell you a lot aboutthe source of the results you’re getting in your life.

Questions People Ask About The Matrix: Now we know that real life is not as neat and tight and logical as thefour quadrants would suggest. There’s a continuum within andbetween each quadrant. There’s some overlapping. The categories area matter of degree as well as kind.


Below are some common questions people ask about the matrix:

● Among all the urgent and important things that we face, how do

we know what to do? This is the dilemma that fills our lives. It’s

what leads us to feel we need to hunker down and do more, faster.

But almost always, there is one thing among all the others that

should be done first. In a sense there is a Quadrant I of Quadrant

I, or a Quadrant II of Quadrant II. How we decide what’s most

important at any given time is one of the primary issues we’ll

address in the following chapters of this book.

● Is it bad to be in Quadrant I? No, it’s not. In fact, many people will

spend a significant amount of their time in Quadrant I. The key

issue is why you’re there. Are you in Quadrant I based on urgency

or importance? If urgency dominates, when importance fades,

you’ll slip into Quadrant III – It’s the urgency addiction. But if

you’re in Quadrant I because of importance, when urgency fades

you’ll move to Quadrant II. Both Quadrant I and Quadrant II

describe what’s important; it’s only the time factor that changes.

The real problem is when you’re spending time in Quadrants III

and IV.

● Where do I get the time to spend in Quadrant II? If you’re looking

for time to spend in Quadrant II, Quadrant III is the primary place

to get it. Time spent in Quadrant I is both urgent and important –

we already know we need to be there. And we shouldn’t be in

Quadrant IV. But Quadrant III can fool us. The key is learning to

see all of our activities in terms of their importance. Then we’re

able to reclaim time lost to the deception of urgency, and spend it

is Quadrant II.

● What if I’m in a Quadrant I environment? Some professions are, by

nature, almost completely in Quadrant I. For example, it’s the job

of firefighter, many doctors and nurses, police officers, news

reporters, and editors to respond to the urgent and important. For

these people it’s even more critical to capture Quadrant II time for

the simple reason that it builds their capacity to handle Quadrant

I. Time spent in Quadrant II increases our capacity to do.


● Is there anything in Quadrant I that doesn’t act on us and demandour attention "right now"? Some thing are crises or problems in themaking if we don’t attend to them. We can choose to make thesethings urgent. In addition, what may be a Quadrant II activity toan organization, such as long-term visioning, planing, andrelationship building, may be Quadrant I to its top executive. Thisis his or her unique charge, the need for these things is great, andthe consequences of either doing these things or not doing them aresignificant. The need for that executive is "now," it’s urgent, and itmust be acted on.

The value of the matrix is that helps us to seen how importance andurgency affect the choices we make about how to spend our time. Itallows us to see where we spend most of our time and why we spend itthere. We can also see that the degree to which urgency is dominant isthe degree to which importance is not.


TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUESKnowing that we cannot actually control the passage of time, it makessense to try and find a way to manage our time. To meet all of thedemands on your time, including hospital, work, family commitments,committees and other activities, it is important to develop organizationand time management skills. There are three levels of planning to consider when managing yourtime.

1. Planning your workAt the beginning of entering a program / rotation it is important tospend some time thinking about what you want to achieve and how youwill go about it. Some questions to ask yourself are:

- What are my long term goals? - What do I want to accomplish in this training program? - How much time do I need to spend on my studies? - How much time do I have for other things?

Once you have answered these questions you will be able to begin toplan with a clear understanding of the tasks you need to accomplish inorder to achieve your long term goals.

An important part of planning is Prioritizing. Some considerationsfor prioritizing your time are:

Amount of time: Don’t spend all your time on one or two tasks /subjects while ignoring others. Designate regular study times and planother commitments around these, not vice versa!

Level of urgency: Decide what is urgent, and deal with these tasksbefore tackling tasks that can wait. Make sure that you note whenmajor assignments are due, so that you can plan your time accordingly.Begin with the tasks that have the earliest deadlines, not those thatare easiest or most interesting!

Level of importance: Decide whether some tasks / subjects / topicsare more important to you in terms of your long term goals. You shouldalso consider how much time you might spend studying for a 20% examcompared to an 80% exam as well as how much internal assessmentyou have to do and how much it is worth in comparison to your exam.


Personal priorities: Consider how your personal priorities mightaffect all of the above. Think about a shift in time commitments asexams move closer.

Tasking: Another important element of time management is Tasking.If one of your goals is to write an essay, break this goal down intosmaller tasks by asking yourself what steps you need to take tocomplete the essay. Make sure you keep the smaller tasks manageable,relevant, specific and realistic. Once you have created a task list, try toestimate the amount of time you will need to complete each task.Decide on an amount of time per week that you can commit topractising your essay writing and group the tasks together to equal thetime you have allocated.

Example: Tasks for writing an essay:● Identifying topic & scope

- choosing topic - analysing question - defining scope of essay

● Researching - finding information - reading and taking notes

● Writing - writing plan - producing first draft - summarising

● Re-drafting - editing and re-drafting - final changes and formatting

2. Weekly planningA weekly plan allows close monitoring of your time so you know howmany hours you have each week for study. When you are creating yourweekly plan:

- try to schedule your study at the time of day that is most productive for you. For some people this is in the morning, while for others it is the afternoon or evening.

- make sure that the time you allocate for study is quality time.


Do not persist with study if you are feeling very sleepy as you will notbe learning effectively. Take a break every hour, and if you are findingit particularly difficult to concentrate, slot in some other activitybetween study sessions.

- schedule in your formal and informal commitments. There is life outside of hospital! Be sure to schedule in all of your formal commitments etc. Don’t forget your informal commitments likefamily, friends, and sports.

- study the subject or subjects you find most difficult or boring before the ones you find interesting. This will help you to maintain concentration.

- review your goals. Set aside time each week or day to review where you are in terms of your goals.

- plan your study environment. Be proactive and choose an environ ment that suits you best. Make sure to remove all of the things that may distract you from staying on task.

- create ways to reward yourself. Reward yourself regularly, be cre ative and have fun with your rewards.

3. Daily PlanningPlanning your day helps maintain an immediate focus on the tasks youneed to complete. There are a number of ways to manage your dailyplanning. These include:

- when to plan your day: You can complete your following day’s plan at the end of each day to help provide continuity oryou can try and compile your daily plan at the beginning of each day. Label each task ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’, with ‘A’s being the most important tasks to complete.

Maintain motivation: It is very common for students to lose interestand motivation at some stage during their studies. This may be due tochanging interests, employment, family problems, or any number ofother factors, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself in this situation.Accomplishing your daily tasks is one strategy that will help youmaintain momentum and keep you motivated.http://slc.otago.ac.nz/studyskills/ch1sect4.asp


THIRTEEN TIMELY TIPS FOR MOREEFFECTIVE PERSONAL TIME

MANAGEMENT

1. SPEND TIME PLANNING AND ORGANIZING:

Using time to think and plan is time well-spent. In fact, if you fail to take time for planning, you are, in effect, planning to fail. Organize in a way that makes sense to you. If you need color and pictures, use a lot on your calendar or planning book. Some people need to have papers filed away; others get their creative energy from their piles. So forget the "shoulds" and organize your way.

2. SET GOALS:

Goals give your life, and the way you spend your time, direction. Whenasked the secret to amassing such a fortune, one of the famous Huntbrothers from Texas replied: "First you've got to decide what you want."Set goals which are specific, measurable, realistic and achievable. Youroptimum goals are those which cause you to "stretch" but not "break"as you strive for achievement. Goals can give creative people a much-needed sense of direction.

3. PRIORITIZE:

Use the 80-20 Rule originally stated by the Italian economist VilfredoPareto who noted that 80 percent of the reward comes from 20 percentof the effort. The trick to prioritizing is to isolate and identify thatvaluable 20 percent. Once identified, prioritize time to concentrateyour work on those items with the greatest reward. Prioritize by color,number or letter — whichever method makes the most sense to you.Flagging items with a deadline is another idea for helping you stick toyour priorities.


4. USE A TO DO LIST:

Some people thrive using a daily To Do list which they construct eitherthe last thing the previous day or first thing in the morning. Suchpeople may combine a To Do list with a calendar or schedule. Othersprefer a "running" To Do list which is continuously being updated. Or,you may prefer a combination of the two previously described To Dolists. Whatever method works is best for you. Don't be afraid to try anew system — you just might find one that works even better thanyour present one!

5. BE FLEXIBLE:

Allow time for interruptions and distractions. Time managementexperts often suggest planning for just 50 percent or less of one's time.With only 50 percent of your time planned, you will have the flexibilityto handle interruptions and the unplanned "emergency." When youexpect to be interrupted, schedule routine tasks. Save (or make) largerblocks of time for your priorities. When interrupted, ask Alan Lakein'scrucial question, "What is the most important thing I can be doing withmy time right now?" to help you get back on track fast.

6. CONSIDER YOUR BIOLOGICAL PRIME TIME:

That's the time of day when you are at your best. Are you a "morningperson," a "night owl," or a late afternoon "whiz?" Knowing when yourbest time is and planning to use that time of day for your priorities (ifpossible) is effective time management.

7. DO THE RIGHT THING RIGHT:

Noted management expert, Peter Drucker, says "doing the right thingis more important than doing things right." Doing the right thing iseffectiveness; doing things right is efficiency. Focus first oneffectiveness (identifying what is the right thing to do), thenconcentrate on efficiency (doing it right).


8. ELIMINATE THE URGENT:

Urgent tasks have short-term consequences while important tasks arethose with long-term, goal-related implications. Work towardsreducing the urgent things you must do so you'll have time for yourimportant priorities. Flagging or highlighting items on your To Do listor attaching a deadline to each item may help keep important itemsfrom becoming urgent emergencies.

9. PRACTICE THE ART OF INTELLIGENT NEGLECT:

Eliminate from your life trivial tasks or those tasks which do not havelong-term consequences for you. Can you delegate or eliminate any ofyour To Do list? Work on those tasks which you alone can do.

10. AVOID BEING A PERFECTIONIST:

In the Malaysian culture, only the gods are considered capable ofproducing anything perfect. Whenever something is made, a flaw is lefton purpose so the gods will not be offended. Yes, some things need to becloser to perfect than others, but perfectionism, paying unnecessaryattention to detail, can be a form of procrastination.

11. CONQUER PROCRASTINATION:

One technique to try is the "Swiss cheese" method described by AlanLakein. When you are avoiding something, break it into smaller tasksand do just one of the smaller tasks or set a timer and work on the bigtask for just 15 minutes. By doing a little at a time, eventually you'llreach a point where you'll want to finish.

12. LEARN TO SAY "NO.":

Such a small word — and so hard to say. Focusing on your goals mayhelp. Blocking time for important, but often not scheduled, prioritiessuch as family and friends can also help. But first you must beconvinced that you and your priorities are important — that seems tobe the hardest part in learning to say "no." Once convinced of theirimportance, saying "no" to the unimportant in life gets easier.


13. REWARD YOURSELF:

Even for small successes, celebrate achievement of goals. Promiseyourself a reward for completing each task, or finishing the total job.Then keep your promise to yourself and indulge in your reward. Doingso will help you maintain the necessary balance in life between workand play. As Ann McGee-Cooper says, "If we learn to balance excellencein work with excellence in play, fun, and relaxation, our lives becomehappier, healthier, and a great deal more creative."

Resources: Drucker, Peter. The Effective Executive. New York:Harper & Row, 1966.

Lakein, Alan: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life. NewYork: Signet, 1974.

McGee-Cooper, Ann. Time Management for Unmanageable People.Dallas, TX: Ann McGee-Cooper & Associates, 1983.


supervisory skillselogbook.cpsp.edu.pk/elogbook/supervisors_workshop..."dr. ahmed, if i...

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