Thirty-two middle management public servants drawn from throughout the public service, and divided into groups of 16 over two separate days this week, had a most enjoyable learning experience. The interactive sessions, held at Paradise Cove, involved lectures and group discussions which were described as inspiring and most effective.

The seminar was delivered by Samuel A. Rey and his sister Sheryl Warren both of whom have close family connections in Anguilla. Mr. Rey is President and Staffing Consultant of Host-U Services, a St. Thomas-based company dedicated primarily to the Hospitality Industry in Customer Services Training, Leadership Development, Employment Placement as well as Departmental Outsourcing. He has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Virgin Islands since in 1994. Ms Warren, who lives in Atlanta, is the company’s Director for Training and Management Development with considerable experience in designing and delivering seminars.

“The seminar we are conducting entails a very strong version of leadership and management skills, how to develop characters that are needed to be better leaders in their respective jobs,” Mr. Rey told The Anguillian. “For example we have been talking about the various styles that people use in their day to day lives but also reflect in their jobs; how each style can understand the other style and be able to still get the productive results that are necessary.

“We talked about the circle of concern versus the circle of influence. This was about a person being a manager and looking at areas you have concern about but have no type of control; but in those areas over which you have influence, you are able to make a difference. We spoke about the proactive versus reactive. When we are reactive it gets us in trouble and when you have ‘proactivity’ you are able to have something like a maintenance programme… We also talked about how our habits impact the way we lead. If we have a habit of always being late to a meeting or in doing things that produce negative results, people are going to see us that way.

“The old model of leadership was that top management tells you exactly what needs to be done. The new model of leadership calls for an involvement of the people in the day to today operations because their input is very important. The value that they bring to the entire operation has a lot more weight than a leader saying what to do. The whole process of the new leadership style is to have what you call inclusion – include everyone from the bottom to the top.”
The seminar also dealt with other matters including time management, decision-making, effective leadership and trustworthiness. A great deal of emphasis was placed on the Smart Plan. SMART is the acronym for specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, time bound. They are five important elements to which managers must pay attention in carrying out their responsibilities and dealings with others.
He said that his sister had been leading most of the sessions, while he led on time management, the Smart plan and others. “It really has been what I think a very successful seminar,” he added.

Permanent Secretary in the Department of Public Administration, Stanley Reid, was pleased with the interest and participation of the public servants in the seminar. He was also grateful to the lecturers for conducting the training sessions. He added that the seminar was financed under the Good Government Fund made available through the Governor’s Office.

Certificates of Excellence were distributed by Deputy Director of Human Resources in the Department of Public Administration, Lana Harrigan.

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