I enjoy reading Derek Huether's blog, He's got insightful comments on the people side of managing projects - not my strength. But his post Social Constraints for Your Meetings, triggered a gut reaction. I've worked in a variety of domains, in and out of commercial and aerospace and defense business as a program manager, software engineering manager, and general management.
Derek's suggestion to a person arriving late to the meeting was...
So, how do you correct this negative behavior? I like to zone in on something that makes the violator uncomfortable. I’ve made them sing. I’ve made them dance. I’ve stopped the meeting when they’ve arrived late and then made them go from person to person on the team and say “I’m sorry for wasting your time”. This may sound a little over-the-top but they slighted everyone on my team. Everyone else was there on time; they should be as well.
I'd suggest Derek's decision to zone in on picking on people in public - a generally bad behavior for a manager - is a very Dilbert-like style. I could see the pointy haired boss doing this.
Having learned to manage people starting in an Officer Candidate School course on small team leadership, and continuing through a MBA and mentored by some of the best technology and business mangers, I'd have to say this is generally a bad idea.
Do Not Follow Derek's advice.
You annoy the person, make yourself look foolish, and generally diminish your stature as a leader. Leaders lead, managers manage, neither embarrasses their staff in public.
My Advice to a Common Problem
For what ever reason this person continues to show up late, deal with it outside the public forum. If it continues after one-on-one discussions and the needed commitments and accountability to "get here on time" have failed - and I've had the direct experience - here's some advice that works without being a "bad manager."
- Start the meeting 5 to 15 minutes earlier than planned - lack meeting schedule margins are common in high paced environments, locations where meetings are spread out around the building, and when your utilization is above 80% we all know response times are slow.
- Stop by the person's office or desk on the way to the meeting, to pick him up. It'll give you time to talk about something other than work on the way to the meeting.
- In the end if all this fails, do what a mentor taught me - and the Parenting with Love and Logic Book suggested when our kids were young and didn't come to the table on time - un-invite this person. Do this in private. Never in public.
- This approach by the way is used by a very senior manager (again a mentor for our firm) on attending meetings. "If you're not here to at value to the outcome of decisions we're going to be making, please leave now." No one should be sitting there observing.
