Enhancing Efficiency and Connection: Insights on Time Management, Task Prioritization, and Building Trust
It was our pleasure to have Ray Hodge both MC and provide multiple training sessions at our Keece leadership conference event in Cairns, August 2023. While Ray did an exceptional job in his role as facilitator, our team provided exceptional feedback for both of the workshops hosted by Ray around some of the soft skills needed for electrical projects and in line with our Keece company culture and values.
The topics of time and task management along with how to build rapport and trust with others were both educational and engaging sessions. We’ve provided a small summary of some key points picked up by the team below; learnings we can all implement to make our work and social lives just that little bit easier.
Session 1: Time and Task Management
- Take note and map your daily energy peaks and troughs. Align your highest value/ concentration tasks to your peak energy times and do the more mundane tasks when your energy is lower.
- While our electrical projects managers don’t need to be told, the advice was Plan, plan, plan. Plan tomorrow today, next week this week. Don’t let the day unfold at a whim. When you have a plan, and you get sidetracked with interruptions, at least you know where to go back to.
- Schedule your interruptions so you can work on high-priority tasks with 100% concentration. This means you schedule the times you are going to return all non-urgent phone calls, respond to emails and messages and so forth. Turn all alerts off.
- Let go and empower others. For managers, become a master at delegation and don’t forget to strengthen your team in how to fulfil those delegated tasks with quality and efficiency.
- Don’t treat all tasks with the same priority and urgency – not everything needs to be done today. This will make you more efficient and help lower the potential for burnout.
Session 2: Building rapport and trust through behavioral adaptation.
- Everyone is different. All of us have behaviour traits and communication styles which reflect our personality profile.
- Some express behaviours that are more results and task-driven; while others are more analytical and thorough; some are laid back and like to connect personally; and others are the fun people of the party.
- The key is when we express similar verbal and physical behaviours to those we are with, it increases the chances of increasing our connection with them. For example, when meeting with your boss or customer, if they normally provide bullet point summaries, then that’s what you give them. If they want detail, then provide it.
- If they are the fun person and enjoy a laugh, make sure you have a good time. If they like to connect at a slower pace then adapt your pace accordingly.
- Connection with others is a multi-fold experience of different elements and flexing our behaviour to the style of those we are with, is a great starting place.
You can find out more about Ray at www.rayhodge.com.au and to receive his weekly writing go to https://rayhodge.substack.com/subscribe
