When your boss arranges meetings behind your back...

Does your boss ever organize a meeting behind your back?  Mine does and it can cause problems with my scheduling.  He will have a quick conversation with a staff member and set up a meeting, but not tell me anything about it.  That makes it difficult when I am supposed to be organizing his calendar, but since I am responsible to organize his time and in spite of my frustration, I have to make it work.  So what can you do when your boss is ruining your perfectly scheduled calendar? 
  • Realize that nothing is cast in stone and things can change so be prepared to make the necessary adjustments.  Your boss is not trying to sabotage you.
  • Assess which meetings can be adjusted without too much disruption. Internal meetings can usually be changed more easily so start there. 
  • Depending on the importance of the impromptu meeting, it may need to be changed to another timeslot to accommodate his or her calendar.  Usually when I point out the conflict to my boss, he is more than willing to make the change.
  • If you have to reschedule, send an email apologizing, but advise that your boss's schedule has changed.  People are busy and certainly understand schedule changes.

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