A council chief executive is attending a £5,000 self-awareness training course in Germany and Florida to learn to become “more likeable and able to like herself”.I'm not sure she needed it, frankly. Anyone who can dip into taxpayer's money and lash it out on a course like this is probably already so far up herself she's as self aware as she's ever going to get...
Dr Fraser has already taken a £2,400 course in Germany and is due to fly out to Florida in October for the remaining £2,500 worth of training.Well, of course it's Florida. I mean, Sandwell in October...? Simply ghastly, my dears!
Still, I look forward to Barmy Bobby Piper doing his best on numerous blogs to defend this... ;)
management and leadership isn't about being "liked", its about being effective.
ReplyDeleteCouncillor Mary Docker, of the opposition Conservative group, added: “I looked on the website and I thought it was quite funny, it’s so Americanised.
ReplyDelete“I think as courses go it isn’t particularly expensive but at this time of the credit crunch I wonder if there are more important things”.
Completely piss-poor attack. Methinks the Tory fancies her chances of being in charge soon, and would quite like a trip to Florida herself.
Once again a wide open goal is presented with no keeper, three yards out, Tory spoons it over the bar. Useless f*cking *****.
Florida in October? All those hurricanes, and all the fault of global warming and Bush :)
ReplyDeleteFor less than £5,000 I sent 2 engineers on a very technical 5 day course in Dubai. It had a measurable result with a pass and fail exam.
ReplyDeleteI presume nobody will know whether she or the council benfited from this "investment".
"Methinks the Tory fancies her chances of being in charge soon, and would quite like a trip to Florida herself."
ReplyDeleteI think you could be right... ;)
"I presume nobody will know whether she or the council benfited from this "investment"."
I don't she's likely to become more likeable, thanks to the publicity she'll be getting...
If any Chief Executive reading this cares to send me a cheque for five grand I promise to tell them as often as they wish to hear it that they are more likeable than anyone else who ever lived, including Jesus. You can't say fairer than that, can you?
ReplyDeleteOh, there seems to be plenty of money around in some parts of the country for training of all sorts and of all people, whether council staff or elected representatives.
ReplyDeleteWe cut our training budget a while back, as well as the catering that went with so much of it.
Be aware that councillor development is very much an "in" thing these days, some of which is for valid reasons.
However I have noticed that there is a tendency for techniques such as Delphi to creep in, and I have experienced this myself (the little cards with one's ideas, the difficult questioner -- me in this case -- being ignored by the trainer, all that stuff).
Therefore do also be aware that the professional manipulators are out there doing what they do to get the thinking (and ultimately the decisions) they -- or those pulling their strings -- are after.
"..the difficult questioner -- me in this case -- being ignored by the trainer.."
ReplyDeleteOh, yes. They don't like to be questioned, do they?
JuliaM
ReplyDeleteAs Ben Jahrvi said in the film Short Circuit 2: "Now you are hitting the nail right between the eyes!"