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Term ”Latinx”, thoughts?
Does jp Morgan provides headset too
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Let’s take the argument with the wife out of the equation.
Let’s say he was sick so bad that he couldn’t standup or safe to drive and totally not what you want on a zoom call even without video.
Or if the guy got in a car accident the day of the event and couldn’t make it.
Would you still be talking about professionalism?
It is on whomever is managing this client relationship to not only plan for this type of meeting but to have a backup plan if folks are out of the office or can’t attend.
If this was a major conversation: This would mean - final versions of the presentation collected and ready to present 2 days before. A primary and secondary presenters listed. And a touchpoint 1-2 days prior to ensure everyone is on the same page with the final documents.
Now if this guy has a trend of always having a major migraine or sicker than a dog before a presentation - this could be something related to stress that is triggering the physical ailments. And if that is going on, you need to re-examine your working environments aka timelines and team stress levels.
Adding the topic of the wife back into the conversation. That conversation the employee had with his wife could have been as bad as a car accident - mentally.
I would suggest the following:
1) a conversation with the entire team about how to handle scenarios where the main speaker is out due to PTO/sick leave.
2) walk though the timeline leading up to this type of call. Where can you adjust to make deliverables ready earlier, identify backups, prep backups.
3) (probably a leadership-level conversation) define levels of sick and if you (the company) want a sick person doing the presentation.
You should be honored that the employee trusted you enough to tell you what was going on. But he was too honest and now you are judging him. Coach him on what kind of information is shareable vs not shareable.
Balance empathy with accountability. ‘I get that life happens, but we need to plan for these situations so the team isn’t scrambling.
This is the better answer. PTO is PTO - assuming that's what they used, it's not anyone's place to police what it's used for or indicate in any way they shouldn't have taken it. Most important thing would be to ensure the team can function in absence so this framing is specific, constructive, and solution oriented
I would start by asking if everything is ok. Their reaction might have been entirely reasonable. I also wouldn’t discuss it in terms of “professionalism.” Assuming no one is sick, they aren’t divorcing imminently, etc, I would explain that the team only works when everyone helps carry the load. You appreciate that family comes first and you’re there to help, but you need this person to work with you to avoid this type of situation in the future (or to mitigate it if it’s somehow unavoidable). I don’t think lecturing someone for being unprofessional (even if that’s what you think) is going to ultimately help you.
🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤 Spot on!
I have so many questions, the top ones off the top of my head are:
* Is this a one off or consistent pattern of behavior?
* How much notice did you have?
* What is your role, are they your direct report?
* What was their role in the briefing. Were they a key contributor?
* How big of a deal was this briefing, really? There is a range of impacts if the briefing doesn't go well: "Important briefing with stakeholder to review project progress" important and "Addressing current progress and recent delivery misses and the changes we are implementing immediately so that the client doesn't cancel project and sue us" important.
If this was a one off occurrence on moderate impact briefing then a quick and frank discussion is probably enough. They likely know they left the team holding the bag and feel bad about it. Life happens.
On the other hand, if they are a major contributor to a critical stakeholders briefing where the outcome has major impacts to the company, their job, and/or the project and they ditched because of an argument with their spouse? That's a major "WTF were you thinking" discussion that should include possible changes to their role. They need to put on their big boy pants and show up or get moved to a less critical role. You can't have a key contributor who get knocked out of the game because of an argument. FFS!
Are you his MD or even manager? If not. Its not your place.
False. This had a direct impact to them and is their business.
That’s a tough situation. I’d recommend approaching it with empathy, but also being clear about expectations. Maybe start by acknowledging the personal situation, then shift to how the team relies on each other during crucial moments. Emphasize professionalism while offering support for future challenges.
OP any updates? Did you initiate a conversation?
Coworker did you a favor