Administration Planning Session Results

Administration held its planning session on August 23.  The group listed a nubmer of challenges they wanted to solve and chose the development of a culture of collaboration as the one they wanted to address.  They identified possible hindrances to effective collaboration both among office staff and in the community at large.  These ideas included--

• Time pressure
• Interruptions
• So much going on that it is difficult to have access to all information
• Difficulty in saying "no"
• Reacting to urgent demands rather than planning and working ahead
• Different personal styles
• Hesitation to ask others to help

They chose Interruptions as an area to discuss and identified several potential causes.  From that list, they decided to work on two causes:  "Meetings by my desk that don't involve me," and unclear job descriptions.  Discussion about interuptions caused by impromptu meetings that distract those nearby let to an action plan to consider how re-configuring office space might minimize distractions and create hospitable space.  They discussed how lack of understanding about who is responsbible for what increases unnecessary interruptions.  A potential action plan to address this was for staff to generate a list of what they are responsible for and create a reference for one another and for community members so that people know how to approach to help with their concern.