Superiors

	Always give your boss clear and concise feedback. Report your movements to your boss and make sure that you inform him / her of issues that may arise. Be sure that your boss is aware of all outcomes and milestones.
	Always treat your boss with the utmost of respect and never speak ill of him or her. The same applies to your organisation.

Don’t:

Step on anyone’s toes. In other words, be careful not to intrude on anyone’s space, deals etc. You need permission to approach someone else’s client, staff member or boss.

-	It would be unprofessional to give a colleague’s staff a task to perform or to wrap them over the knuckles for something done wrong. You need to approach their direct superior (your colleague), who will deal with it.
-	Do not go over a client’s head to their boss, for business. You need to ask your client’s permission to approach anyone else in the organisation. If you suspect that they will block you to protect themselves, then say, “I hope you don’t mind if I see Mr Jones. It is vital to get his input on the issue of training the staff. Would you like to be present?”

	Don’t report colleagues to superiors. You will be viewed as childish and perhaps jealous. It is best to stay out of other people’s business, unless you witnessed disrespect or a crime or something that will affect the company or you personally.
	Don’t speak negatively about your organisation to others. If the company is that bad you shouldn’t be there. Your values should be in sync with organisational values – if you feel it is not, you should find another job.
	Never burn a bridge. In other words always make sure that your relationships are in tact with colleagues, staff, superiors, clients and client’s staff. If you make an enemy out of anyone, it will come back to bite you some day. You may sit opposite that person for an interview one day – and you will NOT get the job or you may need them for something else. Dr Phil McGraw said: “You either contaminate a relationship or you contribute to it…”

Meetings

Meetings are often seen as a waste of time. This may happen when the organiser and / or chair person of the meeting didn’t do enough preparation.

Communicate:

The objective of the meeting
The expected duration of the meeting
The exact location of the meeting
The names of everyone expected to attend
The minutes of the previous meeting (if any)
The agenda

Remember to:

	Do your homework. You may have been given a task in the last meeting. Don’t wait until the last minute before completing the task.
	Excuse yourself, preferably in writing and in good time, if you are unable to attend the meeting. If you had a task to perform, make sure that it’s done and report on when you excuse yourself from the meeting. Do not make a habit of excusing yourself from meetings.
	Make every effort to attend every meeting, because management will notice.
	Observe the rules of meetings.

- Be on time.
- Be prepared.
- Do not be loud or disruptive.
- Tell the truth.
- Give any and all feedback required of you.
- Be respectful of everybody.
- Observe the rules of Communicating With Integrity elsewhere in this book.
- Listen before you give your point of view.
- Resolve conflict amicably and respectfully.
- Do not leave the meeting, unless there is a crisis.
- Switch your cell phone off.
- Participate.
- Stick to the commitments you make in meetings.

-	Do not allow interruptions. Management often feel they have the right to interrupt informal working sessions or meetings of subordinates. This may be viewed as disrespectful, unless it is an urgent matter that needs to be attended to immediately. Always apologise if you must interrupt conversation, meetings or someone’s concentration on a task.
-	Make sure that you thank everyone for their time and participation.
-	Get approval of previous well-documented minutes.
-	Never assign work to anyone not present in the meeting, unless it is absolutely necessary. Note that the person has not agreed to do the task and that they have not been informed of it yet.
-	Stick to the agenda. As the person chairing the meeting, you are responsible for reaching outcomes of the meeting as quickly and effectively as possible.
-	Thank everyone again for attending at the close of the meeting and for the tasks they agreed to do.
-	Remind everyone of the time, date and venue of the next meeting.