Time Management

InBox

Your in-tray is piled high. What needs doing today? What can you delegate? And what is going on in your department anyway? And while you are making these decisions emails are flying in and Simba the lioness has escaped!


How it works

As a new manager, teams are faced with the contents of the previous manager’s in-tray. Sifting through the pile of emails, faxes, memos and letters it becomes clear that some documents need attention now, while others can wait or be delegated. The continuous flow of new emails must also be addressed! It becomes clear that there are personnel and other problems within the section. Teams complete a form listing the issues they must handle TODAY, another form listing tasks to delegate - and to whom, and a third form identifying what the in-tray reveals about the department - and what should be done to improve efficiency.

What it does

InBox not only gets across some key lessons about the manager’s role in terms of prioritising, managing time and delegating to staff, it also looks at a manager’s wider role in terms of developing staff. Analysis of the paperwork identifies things that are going wrong, emphasising that a good manager needs to keep his/her nose to the ground and needs to read between the lines. Provokes lots of useful discussion.

Customer feedback

  • Used with too many groups to mention, InBox is flexible, focused and fun.

    – R. Haywood, Assessment Coaching & Training Ltd.

  • Fast paced and makes you think about the wider implications of things.

    – C. Byrne, Primus Telecommunications

  • A very useful exercise to cement learning points.

    – G. Mills, MDP Training