Everyone shows up late on occasion, but some team members are perennially late to just about everything. Late to meetings. Late for travel. Late for appointments. Late for work. Once this pattern takes hold, it can be very hard to break and can be highly consequential not only for the team member, but also for the leader’s credibility.
I disagree with a hardline stance on tardiness, if it is not more than 15 minutes or so. Team members are all fallible people, but they all have their individual strengths as well. Often, the team member who arrives late is also the team member who stays late.
I encourage my team to be respectful and appreciative of each other's strengths and kind but empowering about weaknesses or failings. Each team member is noted for their individual contributions, so no one is seen as a weak link. People are encouraged to ask questions in private when they feel something is unfair, and the response is always to point out the value that each brings and the understanding in some way that they, themselves, receive.
It's a delicate balance, but each employee is precious and valuable to our team.
Yes. This approach is for those who are chronically late but excel in other areas.
We don't often have individuals who are regularly late for meetings or events. When people are late to those, it is often because they have a client with them or another meeting that runs over, and we don't blame people for their full schedules. We all wear a lot of hats, here.
Obviously, if we are talking about someone who is blatantly unreliable, that is another issue.
Somewhat, yes. If someone is more than 15 minutes late on a regular basis, we would need to find out if there is some problem at home that should be addressed or some health problem that is causing severe tardiness.
One of my rules is punctuality. Greg McKeown mentions time fallacy/planning fallacy in his perennial work (in my opinion) essentialism (McKeown. 2014). Since then I do my best to multiply the time it'll take me to get to work by two. I have found this to be somewhat helpful.
As we know and have discussed, things are seldom black and white. Good aspiring leaders must learn to think in the grey (Sample. 2002). When health issues rear up or other factors come up, some companies are less understanding than others. This is where organizations, especially managers show their worth. We also see who's a leader and who is merely a manager.
Our organization makes a point to present as fair processing. Unfortunately, this can lead to black and white thinking. While everyone must meet a basic set of standards. Individuals often have things in their life that come up. I tend to look at people as resources and investments of the organization. Everyone is different and perform differently. Our management team takes the general approach. This is quite common. However, this means, your 'individual' performers will likely stop giving you their all. However, as a manager, it is much easier and efficient to take a general approach...
When I was a young man, I was habitually late; poor time management. I was pulled aside and told “tardiness is the ultimate sign of disrespect”. I’ve been maniacally punctual since then
I think you're spot on the overly optimistic being the folks who are most likely being late to meetings. I'm rereading Greg McKeown's Essentialism and he mentions this - they have trouble saying no to things - e.g., I know it takes 5 minutes to walk down the hall to get to the meeting on-time, but if I can just squeeze in replying to another email, etc. On the darker side, I've seen some people use being habitually late to meetings as a power move. Come to the meeting a few minutes late, tell others they were just in another important meeting, thank them for waiting on them, and they leave the current meeting before its end because they have another more important meeting to get to.
Yikes! Yes, I think we've all been in situations where these somewhat toxic folks can make extra work for others and stress out the entire team with their ego antics.
In my experience, if you cultivate an environment of strong team values, the culture and the pressure from teammates to behave in a way that is considerate and elegant will often put the squeeze on the fakers. If it's clear that teammates are only impressed by good character, good manners, and thoughtfulness, they might change their approach (or change jobs, if they cannot). Sometimes a good professional team coach can be brought in for some help in restructuring the culture. To save money, I listen to a lot of TED talks. LOL
I disagree with a hardline stance on tardiness, if it is not more than 15 minutes or so. Team members are all fallible people, but they all have their individual strengths as well. Often, the team member who arrives late is also the team member who stays late.
I encourage my team to be respectful and appreciative of each other's strengths and kind but empowering about weaknesses or failings. Each team member is noted for their individual contributions, so no one is seen as a weak link. People are encouraged to ask questions in private when they feel something is unfair, and the response is always to point out the value that each brings and the understanding in some way that they, themselves, receive.
It's a delicate balance, but each employee is precious and valuable to our team.
Morning, Conna!
Does this approach you mention include those on your team who might be chronically late?
And we are asking, not just for the start of the work day, but for events and meetings where tardiness effects the schedules of others?
Yes. This approach is for those who are chronically late but excel in other areas.
We don't often have individuals who are regularly late for meetings or events. When people are late to those, it is often because they have a client with them or another meeting that runs over, and we don't blame people for their full schedules. We all wear a lot of hats, here.
Obviously, if we are talking about someone who is blatantly unreliable, that is another issue.
Hi Conna - I'm interested to know if your lines on regular tardiness are well-defined at the 15 minute mark?
Somewhat, yes. If someone is more than 15 minutes late on a regular basis, we would need to find out if there is some problem at home that should be addressed or some health problem that is causing severe tardiness.
Good morning,
This is a difficult one for me.
One of my rules is punctuality. Greg McKeown mentions time fallacy/planning fallacy in his perennial work (in my opinion) essentialism (McKeown. 2014). Since then I do my best to multiply the time it'll take me to get to work by two. I have found this to be somewhat helpful.
As we know and have discussed, things are seldom black and white. Good aspiring leaders must learn to think in the grey (Sample. 2002). When health issues rear up or other factors come up, some companies are less understanding than others. This is where organizations, especially managers show their worth. We also see who's a leader and who is merely a manager.
Thanks for your time.
Morning, Joe.
Is your company policy on tardiness well detailed and defined?
Is it as diligent on enforcement?
Our organization makes a point to present as fair processing. Unfortunately, this can lead to black and white thinking. While everyone must meet a basic set of standards. Individuals often have things in their life that come up. I tend to look at people as resources and investments of the organization. Everyone is different and perform differently. Our management team takes the general approach. This is quite common. However, this means, your 'individual' performers will likely stop giving you their all. However, as a manager, it is much easier and efficient to take a general approach...
Thanks for your time.
Thanks Joe.
When I was a young man, I was habitually late; poor time management. I was pulled aside and told “tardiness is the ultimate sign of disrespect”. I’ve been maniacally punctual since then
I think you're spot on the overly optimistic being the folks who are most likely being late to meetings. I'm rereading Greg McKeown's Essentialism and he mentions this - they have trouble saying no to things - e.g., I know it takes 5 minutes to walk down the hall to get to the meeting on-time, but if I can just squeeze in replying to another email, etc. On the darker side, I've seen some people use being habitually late to meetings as a power move. Come to the meeting a few minutes late, tell others they were just in another important meeting, thank them for waiting on them, and they leave the current meeting before its end because they have another more important meeting to get to.
Yikes! Yes, I think we've all been in situations where these somewhat toxic folks can make extra work for others and stress out the entire team with their ego antics.
In my experience, if you cultivate an environment of strong team values, the culture and the pressure from teammates to behave in a way that is considerate and elegant will often put the squeeze on the fakers. If it's clear that teammates are only impressed by good character, good manners, and thoughtfulness, they might change their approach (or change jobs, if they cannot). Sometimes a good professional team coach can be brought in for some help in restructuring the culture. To save money, I listen to a lot of TED talks. LOL