Trying to pin this employee down to a specific time is like trying to bottle the wind. Let's come up with a few strategies before time runs out on this work relationship!
Here you are, Mr. or Ms. I'm Flexible All Day Today, only to find that your co-worker is nothing but inflexible. Quite frankly, you've come to dread setting a time to meet with this work peer (and I say work peer, not boss!) because it's simply so frustrating. Trying to get on this co-worker's Google calendar is worse than trying to schedule a conference call involving ten far-flung participants! In a word: impossible.
This ongoing work situation might have an odd way of making you feel like your time is somehow less important than your work peer's time, because you are essentially forced into riffing off his or her time frame. Every. Single. Time.
Throwing Jell-O at the wall and hoping it sticks (this time...) gets tiring after awhile as the Slippery Meeting Scheduler hems and haws and goes back and forth while you wait.
Sorry, that time won't work for me, either. Wait. I might have a window of time on Thursday afternoon...ah, nope. That doesn't work, either. Totally booked. Let's see here...Oh! I have a break on Friday between 6:09 and 6:13, would that work for you? Can't do it any other time that day. What were your time frames again? Could we talk sometime next week? I might have some time free, but I'm not sure when yet...
Ugh. Clawing your way onto this co-worker's calendar isn't working for your Hang-10 work style. In fact, it makes the job a lot more stressful because you need this co-worker's availability to get the work done. You're left hanging, and quietly pondering the unknowns. Will this meeting or conversation actually happen??? What will happen if it doesn't happen?
What can you do amid this scheduling game? Here are five quick tips:
1. Stop phoning it in. Can you get around scheduling a meeting with this co-worker? Can you send an email, a text, a document, or a printed out summary of your thoughts to leave on his or her desk with a note to get back to you via those means of communication? I know you're busy, so it seems easiest to update you by email instead. Of course, there will still be conversations that should ideally happen either in person or over the phone, which brings me to Tip #2.
2. Find a time, and pencil it in. When you finally get a meeting and the conversation is winding down, you might say something like: "This time seems to work really well for us! Why don't I put us down for the same time next week." It's not a question, it's a statement! Be assertive. If your co-worker balks, find another time. Yes, you're forcing this co-worker into a more consistent pattern, but you have to because the workload demands it. See you for our follow-up next Wednesday from 10:17 to 10:27!
3. Proceed as planned. Should you remind this co-worker about today's meeting? It's risky, because the last thing you want to hear from this co-worker is: Unfortunately, I'm not available to meet at that time after all. Is there another time that works for you this week? Gah! Now you're back at Square One! Go ahead and call at the scheduled time. If your work peer isn't there, it's on him or her for missing a meeting that was on the Google calendar. You did your part by showing up on time, right?
4. Keep track. If your work history with this work peer is turning into a scheduling nightmare that could begin to impact your productivity and job performance, then you might quietly keep track of your meeting history by highlighting missed meetings in yellow and meetings that actually happened in green, for example. This way, you have time on your side.
5. Value your own time, too. It's easy to fall into a pattern by always bowing to this co-worker's scheduling demands. But remember that your time is valuable, too. It might be time to set a few clear scheduling boundaries of your own, if possible. Bend, but don't break. Also, make sure you're not bothering this co-worker with business agenda items that don't require a meeting. He or she may be trying to tell you something without saying it.
Will these tips work? Well, they might be worth a try. Please feel free to share what works for you. Besides, you've definitely got time on your hands as you wait to pencil in a status update meeting with this co-worker. Good luck with that.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon