Work request

@daisychain01 I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but I'm not sure I agree with you on which side of the line the OP and her employee are falling on.

In my workplace we also block time to focus on work but our diaries are open enough that the team can understand what that time is for. I consider that part of my management role is working with that information to deliver against requirements- so if a team member has blocked a couple of hours for prep on a task for next week but we have something urgent come in that needs addressed today, I can ask them to adjust their plans to respond.

And I agree meetings allow opportunities for growth but that has to be done appropriately- so I would expect employees to agree attendance with a manager in advance. Juniors can't all just rock up at a board meeting because they would get something out of it personally.

The need for personal development can't trump the need for the work to be delivered, and surely one role of managers is to have oversight of how best to achieve that with available resource?

Is she actually doing her work? I think you absolutely need to manage her and advise her that everyone needs to be accountable for their work and nobody else has an issue with being transparent about how their time is being used.

This. She is upto no good

That's too heavy handed in my experience and creates an atmosphere of mistrust.
It's quite an unhealthy way to manage I think.

Surely better to treat people like adults and tackle any issues that arise.

"Managing"? Or "micromanaging"? There is a fine line between these but I think you need to be careful not to completely stifle a direct report's autonomy, scanning their calendar and questioning the meetings they are attending isn't ideal.

I'd start by having a general conversation about calendars and the reason you need to see what the meetings are, in case you want to book something that's a greater priority. I don't think it's unreasonable for them to want to attend meetings where they make a judgement call as to its relevance to their role and their wider development.

when I need quiet time I put "Focus Time" in the title, so I get time to actually do work, or block out an hour and add the title of the work into the calendar scheduler, so it's clear what it's about. My team do that now, so we all talk the same language. I respect their need for time to think and focus on their deliverables.

she booked herself in meetings that are not grade appropriate - if they want to develop, then not allowing them to attend a meeting because of their grade is short sighted imo. If their conduct is an issue, you need to understand what that issue is, rather than putting it down to their grade. That's keeping people in a box, when a manager's role is to guide and allow for growth.

your management style sounds very old-fashioned. People nowadays should be mentored and guided, with clarity on boundaries and priorities but not stifled and restricted. It takes patience and skill but you get better cooperation and productivity if you support staff by giving them some elbow room.

Can't you just fire her?

Sounds strange. She's the only member of your team that won't allow you access to their calendar.

I'd be firm with her. It's a requirement of her role.

She is also working outside of working hours.? Could this mean she's not actually working during work hours?

A manager I liked working for was coaching me to mange people eventually and one recommendation from her was to have employees report their time, say in 20 minute blocks, to their manager for a while. This was working in an office too. It was explained to me that it would help the manager understand time management, priorities, and skills of each employee. Eventually, once there is trust earned, no more need for time reporting. Most of us did this for about two weeks but one employee was sitting time reporting after 18 months.

Agree with you're not spying, you're managing.

Explain to her you are not spying, you are managing. I would tell her what you have put in your OP - be open about it. “I’ve noticed that your tendency to book longer than you need for tasks is impacting my ability to see clear space in the team diary. I need you to share full details of your diary - you can mark private any HR sensitive appointments. if you are using your work diary personal reminders, these should be left “free” so it’s clear your time isn’t blocked in your calendar”

Alterntively I would book a 10 min catch-up with her every morning to go through her diary for the day and ask her what every meeting is. Explain you need to understand how she is using her time and there have been complaints she has been attempting to join the wrong meetings.

If she feels you are spying, that’s really her problem not yours…

I would start by having a conversation and ask her why she is blocking out time in her calendar. Is there something about her role that makes this necessary? You may find that you don’t understand some particular aspects of her work and requirements for blocks of uninterrupted work time for efficiency.

once you have that conversation, you just tell her that it is group/department/division policy that she set her calendar share settings in a particular way. Offer a session with the company tech helpline if she needs assistance getting it adjusted properly.