Being Late
“I am OFTEN running late.”
While that was a completely transparent and honest statement, it was a confession that I am NOT proud of. In fact, when I typed it and looked at it, I could feel the heat of shame (and NOT a hot flash) rising in my face.
So let’s discuss why and how this shows up in leadership...and...you’ve got it...in parenting.
We receive little or no negative consequences. What I mean by that is, waiting until the last minute in school and college did not result in a low GPA. There it is… no negative consequences.
We convince ourselves we have very important things to do. If you work in a hospital or healthcare setting, you are “saving lives” - right? What’s more important...saving lives or being on time?
We think we can get “just one more thing done” before we go to our next meeting, appointment, etc. This one's my favorite. My father described my timeliness as “having a 16 ounce pitcher and an eight ounce glass where my theory was “pour it fast” so everything fits in. While it is funny at first blush, it is totally foolish thinking.
My last example is the “parenting” one. A parent sets the clock ahead 5-10 minutes early hoping it will fool both you AND your kids. Then when a visitor asks “what time is it,” the kids say “the real time or the time by the clock” totally defeating the purpose of setting the clocks ahead. (Yes this is a real scenario)
The apparent consequences should have grabbed my attention when a former CNO said it would be a career-limiting move if I didn’t “get it together.” It appears that it takes some people hearing the truth (with consequences) from those closest to us before we come to the startling moment of our actions. My realization was a verbal “smack in the face” from a family member. She intimated she would leave me if I was late just one more time because it is disrespectful.
Finally, we have the consequences of what “being late” looks like to others. Forbes magazine contributor, Brent Beshores, says “being late is unacceptable; and your punctuality says a lot about you.” Here are the words he used: disrespectful, inconsiderate, ‘big-timing’, incredible (not in the good way), flaky, unprofitable, disorganized, overly-busy, and megalomaniacal. I don’t know about you but these words sound neither pleasant nor the way I want to be described.
So...what is the “fix” for being late? I think it is simple and could be summed up in a motto I wish I learned as a child:
“5 minutes early is on time. On time is late. Late is unacceptable.”
I would love to hear what tactics you have in place to be early to your appointments. In the meantime, I must run. I have a meeting I want to get to 5 minutes early.
