Expected to start teams meetings?

This! Also that the op says they are ‘always’ running over. Is this only their second meeting?!

100%.

I would also worry that I had to teach them basic etiquette.

unless OP you are 14 and on work experience?

in which case I really think you need to rethink how you view this ‘power struggle’ between you and your horrible boss

I apologised and said the reason for why I didn’t start it, as he had a meeting before (more succinctly than that) and he said no YOU always start the meetings.

I’d imagine it’s because he doesn’t like your attitude. It’s crazy you turned up late to your second meeting with your boss. I’d think he’s probably asking with a view of seeing whether you should pass your probation or not.

Is it me, or does this person just seem like a drama addict? How exhausting to be around. I hope they don’t pass their probation.

The manager didn't actually give that instruction, though. He just told OP to go ahead and start their scheduled 1-1 meeting instead of waiting for him to do it.

If one of my brand new direct reports was 5 minutes late to a meeting with me during their training when they didn't have any time-sensitive tasks or meetings on their schedule it would catch my attention and make me wonder if they're likely to be punctual to meetings once they're actually busy. And if they revealed that they'd been sitting there twiddling their thumbs instead of taking the initiative to hit the button I'd think "Are they someone who needs to be micromanaged? Do they not know how to start a meeting on teams? Or do they just think the done thing is to wait on the senior person to start the meeting?" Telling OP to go ahead and start the meeting as scheduled instead of waiting for him to do it is a reasonable step for a manager in this position.

I join or start the meeting at the right time. If no one turns up withiin 5 mins, I message and tell them to call me back when they’re free.
If he’s in back to back meetings he was maybe waiting for the notification that you joined to leave his other meeting.

It’s more efficient in terms of overall waste of company time and money for you to be waiting for him to join, than for him to be waiting for you. He doesn’t have time to wait, and you do. That’s why he wants you to start the meetings on time, even if he can’t join immediately.

His time is more valuable than yours, and you’ve just got to accept that.

You said he has back to back meetings - if that’s a regular thing for him then it’s not a power move it’s just the best way for him to organise his time.

If he has all his direct reports be responsible for starting the meetings on time then he is able to take that minor admin issue off his plate and move smoothly from meeting to meeting without wasting any minutes.

Imagine it like a real building with 6 meeting rooms - manager gets the junior staff member to go in, turn the lights on, sit down and wait for meeting to start. Then manager can just run in - sit down have meeting and then straight onto the next one - run in sit down have the meeting and then straight into the next one.

He’s found a system which works for him and his work load. He doesn’t have to think about being the one to start the meeting and worrying if the other person is ready - he can keep doing his previous meeting or work until he sees that the next one is up and running and can move from task to task without wasting anytime.

In any job - but particularly a new one - the best play is to be someone who makes your manager’s job easier not harder.

You are focusing on the wrong thing.

your boss asked to see you at 3pm. He joined the meeting 5 minutes late and you weren’t there. You didn’t have any competing meetings to explain why you were late.

if I was your boss I would be concerned you aren’t taking things very seriously.

you join the meeting at the start tike unless you have a good reason.

sometimes in my work the host has to open the meeting. If the host is late everyone else is stuck in a waiting room.

you come across as quite difficult.

He's not being weird he's just wondering where on earth she was when she wasn't at the meeting!

OP I get what you’re trying to say.

There is no reason why he’s making up this stupid rule about you starting meetings. Some people are odd and don’t like to join unless there are people already on the call.

For the sake of peace just join at the allotted time and do some work until he joins. You’re still new to the team, once you’ve been there longer I bet you’ll find others equally frustrated by him and his weird behaviour!

Maybe it was a test?

It is a slightly odd power play by the manager - who gives the instruction that OP must always start Teams meetings.

But on the other hand, I'm not sure, as a new starter, why you wouldn't make sure you were joining the meeting a minute or two early - which probably result in you starting the meeting and this issue not even coming up as a topic of conversation/instruction.

Yes, with a shift of perspective, this would be seen as empowering and collaborative. Take the initiative, take the lead, co-facilitate our joint meetings.

Tell you what OP, why not email him.

"Dear Nigel, I just want to go on record with my disappointment regarding our conversation today when you told me I should open teams meetings. As I'm sure you're aware, I am a very valuable member of your team, and my time is precious. For this reason it is my preference, and in the interests of the company that I complete my training packs and you start the meetings. To me this is an obvious best use of my time. I found it quite unacceptable that you pulled rank to issue me with an instruction I disagree with, and would appreciate if there were no further incidences if this. In the event there is I will have no choice but to submit a formal grievance"

That'll show him OP.

and sometimes standing up to authority and not following the crowd is a good thing and worth it.
but 'please can you join meetings on time,' is hardly an unreasonable expectation.

With your attitude you won’t get far. Good luck in the real world

The convention that the more junior person joins the meeting is weird.

Based off what OP has quoted from her manager, he never actually said the most junior person starts all meetings. That blanket rule seems to have been invented on the OP's side. He just told her to go ahead and open the teams meeting on time for their 1-1s instead of waiting for him to do it.

This. End of!

If be pretty pissed off if one of the juniors in my team waited for me to start the meeting before joining.

Join at the allotted time and wait. I do it with my bosses too

To me there seems to be an 'acceptable window of lateness' of around 1-2 minutes max after which the latecomer needs to apologise and explain how long they will be. I sometimes suggest the other person dials off and I will message when I'm about to dial in. It usually because I'm back to back and need a loo break and I think I can sort it in a couple minutes or I'm in a call with a client and I'm hoping they will wrap up soon.

If I know I will overrun I will usually suggest we push the start time 10 minutes beforehand.

If I had dialled in and found junior person not online after 2 or 3 minutes I'd be messaging and asking 'Is this happening'? I'd assume they were almost reluctant to join or waiting to see if it was worth their while joining.

Either way it's clearly the norm at new workplace so just do it!! dialling in and sitting waiting still means you can get on with other stuff or this highly important training and reading.

Some people work part-time so they absolutely can be on MN at 3pm!

The convention that the more junior person joins the meeting is weird. I get a notification to tell me the meeting is starting, so I join. Sometimes someone else gets there first, so I join via that notification, or sometimes I am not quite ready and join 30 seconds later or whatever.

If I am going to be late, I put a message in the chat.

That seems to cover all eventualities.

If someone is really late, I just leave the meeting on until they can join me.

OP are you 15 and doing work experience? 😂

In my work if it's a one on one meeting with a manager I'd wait for them to start it because they're often quite busy and overrun. If it's a team meeting we all just join at the start time.

He's the boss. He makes the policy decisions. Now you know what's expected you can do it.

I’m often in back to back meetings. If I’m a few mins late, and no one has joined the last meeting I might message to check it’s still on, as if you’re not there 3 minutes into the call then I would expect you’re not joining at all.

Although my biggest bug bear is someone being late without at least sending a quick message to let the other person know, it’s just disrespectful - so if I was your manager I would’ve already messaged to say I was running late.