Dr. Nii Nortey Hanson-Nortey is a deputy programme manager for Ghana’s national TB control programme. Recently he discussed with us changes that he has brought to his workplace since his training with the IMDP. "Since attending the courses, I’ve started Friday staff meetings. The focus of the meetings is to build our organisational capacity and empower everyone to do more in their areas. During the meetings we discuss and share management-training information as well as some of the training articles reviewed during the courses. This also helps staff to build capacity for their own futures. I’ve noticed that communication has become more open because of these meetings. People feel more comfortable asking questions and sharing information.
In addition, I’ve implemented quarterly monitoring meetings with senior management to review funding and to discuss activities that occur in various regions, as well as review data, and discuss current and future challenges. It has created an atmosphere with more trust and communication amongst management and subordinates.
My approach to presentation has also improved. I spend more time with subordinates, listen more and talk about what challenges they are having. I also try to make the training as participatory as possible and involve the trainees. I’ve started mentoring two people in my office in order to promote leadership development, help them better understand programme activities, as well as how to conduct their own trainings.
The courses taught me how different management techniques that have worked in the business world can also make a big difference when applied to the health sector. It has been a great opportunity for me to apply IMDP learning to various areas in my country. I hope I would have the opportunity to recommend more people to these courses.” |
Dr. Dance Gudeva Nikovska is a coordinator of GFATM funded projects for TB control with the ministry of health in Macedonia. She spoke with us about how she applied her IMDP training in her organisation. “I coordinate the tuberculosis component of the Global Fund grant my country has received which includes managing sub-recipient activity and coordinating grant funds among the sub-grants which are spread out across three ministries of health and seven NGOs. I also prepare reports for donors on a quarterly basis in order to meet funding requirements.
Upon returning home after attending the Budget Planning and Project Management course, I presented to my colleagues the budgeting tools I learned during the course in order to prepare for our application to the Global Fund. The budgeting tools were very useful and can be used in any health programme. They provided easily defined TB activities, but also categorised those activities that fit Global Fund stipulations. It eased our efforts substantially when preparing our own budgets!
There was also a lot of useful training on monitoring and evaluation. Some of the instructors were real encyclopedias of knowledge and their experience was applicable to any setting and programme in TB control.
Since the course, I have changed almost all of my reporting forms based on what was presented during the course. In addition, another technique I picked up from the course was utilising “Energisers” which I now use a lot before and after long meetings which require quite a lot of stamina from everyone involved. It helps motivate staff and boosts their endurance.
But for me, the most important thing was the shared experience with my colleagues in TB control. We all come from different sectors and countries, and I was able to share and learn a lot from the other professionals in my group. I cannot forget some of my peers in the course and the fun and inspiration they provided to me. I have highly recommended the course to my colleagues and other stakeholders, and I sincerely hope they will be exposed to such an international community in TB control.” |
Dr. Sher Shah Amin is a deputy programme manager for BRAC Afghanistan. He talked with us about the effects his IMDP training has had in his work. “I’ve worked with BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) in Afghanistan since 2002. I work in different areas such as supervising field workers, policy planning, acting as a liaison with the ministry of health and donors, doing staff appraisals, coordinating different health projects, and representing the organisation at various forums.
I’ve attended two Union courses. The first was a special course on Management, Finance, and Logistics organised as an “In-Country” course in Kabul and the second was Leading Management Teams. The first was a special course addressing issues such as supplies and logistics management. We have more than 100 health facilities in Afghanistan, so if you calculate the consumption rate of medicine, it is very high. We have to match the needs in the provinces with those at the central level. We were facing problems such as shortage of medicines and drugs expiring because of improper management. After attending this course I understand better how to deal with these issues and learned management techniques that helps to prevent these types of problems occurring in the future. The second course had a special advantage in that it was good for a person on several levels. In my case, as I’m coordinating different projects and leading different teams of workers, it is very important for me to understand the role and responsibility of every person in the project.
I primarily work on the central level, and since we have different teams at various levels, we have to understand the attitudes and comprehension of every member of the team in order assign them proper responsibilities. For example, BRAC has several health projects at present in Afghanistan, and because of improper explanation of the project objectives and workers’ roles we sometimes face problems. This is sometimes due to the similarities of different projects supported by different donors which have different requirements.
One important change which has happened in my work since the course is that now I properly explain the projects and the role of each of the workers in the project. Just after returning from the course, I organised an orientation session for the members of a project called the Mobile Health Team. This orientation was very important in terms of fulfilling the requirement of the donor and submitting the quarterly report.” |
Andrews Seglah is a programme manager for Community Sustainable Development (COMSUDEV) in Ghana. We spoke with him about the effects his recent IMDP training has had in his workplace.
“I am the projects and programmes manager for Community Sustainable Development (COMSUDEV) in Keta, Ghana. My daily work consists of administrative and management tasks including staff and logistics. I also train volunteers and conduct monitoring and reporting. I work within 132 communities under one District or Province.
I attended The Union’s course on Budget Planning and Project Management last year which has since helped me a lot. The course complemented my every day work, from planning, implementation, monitoring, supervision and evaluation. Since I am the project manager, I work with staff in all aspects of the project management cycle, which has helped us as a team, and also our partners and collaborators.
Before the training it was difficult to implement projects within the budget given as shortfalls were always a problem, but now that has improved. Also, the training on project management skills helped me and my team to increase case detection, and also the high default rate has been reduced as stated by the district focal person of TB at the district health directorate.
Proposal budgets have also been improved due to the skills acquired during the training. After my return I organised a day meeting with staff and collaborators including the TB focal person and the laboratory technicians to share with them the new skills I learned so that together we can deliver and achieve the target and objectives set. The training course was very beneficial since it did not only benefit me as an individual, but also others such as co-workers, collaborators, community members and the country at large.” |
Dr Nay Htut Ko Ko is a Programme Associate for World Vision, Myanmar. In 2009 he attended the IMDP course on Leading Management Teams. We spoke with him after the course to ask him about his experiences and how he has been using his training in his work.
“My daily routine at work is communicating with my TB implementing teams, monitoring and evaluation, and strengthening donor relationships. The core responsibility that I have is to effectively support a TB project that is being implemented in five townships in Myanmar. I also look after projects in malaria and HIV, but TB is my main project.
Since I attended the Leading Management Teams course a lot of my thoughts and behavior have changed. I have become an active listener who really cares about what my subordinates are saying. I have become a better strategic planner in certain tasks, and my commitment for TB projects also has been raised. I am now trying to make my supervisor and subordinates more of a team and also mentor some of my people.
Because of the course, I’ve started to do more team building among my staff members. I've used some of the Leadership Style Assessment tools that I learned in the course to further assess our team members’ behaviors and styles. Thanks for those really useful tools!
In addition, I now give more feedback to every report that is sent in by my team which I didn't do previously, pointing out issues and problems that arise. I’ve become an active listener who doesn't look for a person's faults but instead for the facts that are really affecting a project’s implementation. These are the obvious changes in me and in my team after my training with the International Management Development Programme.” |
