Start and Stop On Time

I almost didn't write more details on starting and stopping your meeting on time. On the surface, it seems like such a simple concept, yet so often, I am in a meeting waiting for others to join, or I am watching the minutes eat away at my lunch break as a meeting runs long.

If you call a meeting, you obviously think there is something important to discuss. I beg of you to start on time. You expect people to show up on time. You should have enough respect for their time to start when you say you will. Whether consciously or unconsciously, when you start late, you are telling the people in attendance that their time is not valuable.

In fact, in a study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, starting your meeting late leads to more interruptions, side conversations, off-topic interjections, and lower overall effectiveness.

So, if you decide a meeting is necessary, be sure you are the type of leader who respects their team's time and starts and stops on time.