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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be annoyed at my colleague?

236 replies

PandaAndLionRoar · 13/12/2024 22:00

I was in an all day meeting with the board/C suite in work today. My colleague/friend was in work but not in the meeting with me. It was her last day before MAT leave and it was coming up to 5pm and I was still in my meeting with the board so she came to the meeting room and interrupted my meeting by knocking on the door and then asking for me and saying “I’m sorry to interrupt but can I have a quick world please, it’s urgent”. It turns out she didn’t have anything urgent that she needed me for but she just wanted to say bye to me before she goes on MAT leave and knew that I wouldn’t be out of my meeting before 5pm when she left the building so she decide to interrupt my meeting to say bye instead. I feel a bit annoyed that she interrupted the whole meeting just to say bye to me whilst I was in a meeting with the board, fair enough if it was something urgent but it wasn’t. She could have just phoned me later to say bye if she wanted. AIBU to be a little annoyed with my colleague for interrupting my meeting just to say bye? She took me out the meeting room and just said that she just wanted to say bye to me before she goes on MAT leave and then we chatted for 2 minutes and that was it, nothing urgent at all!

OP posts:
Fillyfrog · 14/12/2024 07:52

You sound really self important. God forbid she interrupt your meeting with the C-suite! Not when you're on the board for a large national company! 🙄

Give it a rest. I think it was a lovely thing to do and you're totally over thinking it.

DiliGaff · 14/12/2024 07:48

Mumbleitsoftly · 13/12/2024 22:24

You've said the word bye more times than N Sync in that opening post.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Codlingmoths · 14/12/2024 07:48

SharpOpalNewt · 14/12/2024 07:15

Not seeing a friend again for a good while is urgent and important and worth missing two minutes of a shitty meaning for.

You need to get your priorities straight, OP.

Like a whole week or so till they do coffee/lunch? Honestly, I can think of no personal reasons short major tragedy or going into labour. I cannot imagine someone interrupting a board meeting in my job for something less than a major immediate crisis, I can understand why they all wanted to know what it is as that’s the only reasonable answer.

winter8090 · 14/12/2024 07:30

She obviously thinks a lot of you to have made so much effort to have said goodbye.
Try and focus on that.

FitAt50 · 14/12/2024 07:24

Foundanotherwrinkle · 13/12/2024 22:12

Is MAT leave maternity? Never seen it in capitals and shortened like that like it's an acronym

It's because of the MATB1 form you give to your employer for maternity pay.

Calmhappyandhealthy · 14/12/2024 07:22

Are you aware that Board meetings are simply meetings?

I think you need to cut your ego down a bit 🤣

Neeenaaw · 14/12/2024 07:21

I find it really hard to imagine everyone in the meeting was pressing you to find out what was going on, other than possibly a “is everything ok?”.
It also feels as though you’re making yourself so very important with the constant mention of the board and the suite and the all day meeting.
It might not have been the most professional thing to do, but it’s not worth a single other thought.

LadyTiredWinterBottom2 · 14/12/2024 07:21

Are you really stressed at work?

She was being polite. For some reason you are important to her.

AllAboardTootToot · 14/12/2024 07:21

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BlackJacktheDog · 14/12/2024 07:19

Ack. I would t have done it and think it was possibly a little pointless to interrupt a meeting for. But in a scale of crimes this is a tiny, tiny one. I wouldn't have interrupted a meeting but I also wouldn't have given it more than about 30 seconds of thought.

I've been in enough senior meetings to know this is far from the least professional thing that goes on in and around them.

SharpOpalNewt · 14/12/2024 07:15

Not seeing a friend again for a good while is urgent and important and worth missing two minutes of a shitty meaning for.

You need to get your priorities straight, OP.

Original poster
PandaAndLionRoar · 14/12/2024 07:12

RedHelenB · 14/12/2024 00:41

Why didn't you just tell the truth?

Show quote history

Because she had already told them it was something “urgent”.

OP posts:
routinelife · 14/12/2024 01:17

Agree with all the posters saying she was completely professional to interrupt that way given it was c suite meeting

She actually thought you were that important that she wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to you

Anyway we all learn our lessons in due course

Resilienceisimportant · 14/12/2024 01:16

MuddyPawsIndoors · 13/12/2024 23:48

Bless you OP

Is this the first time you've ever been invited to a meeting?

Once you get used to them, you'll realise people step outside for all sorts of reasons.

Once I had to leave a meeting to use the washroom. I regret it to this day. I forgot to raise my hand and ask the MD for permission. I might have been gone 4 minutes. When I got back the meeting was concluded and a whole new company strategy, direction and change had been decided without me. To this day I still haven’t been able to keep up or understand all that happened in those four minutes as it was so momentous. Never again.

Opentooffers · 14/12/2024 01:12

Someone has had a sense of humour bypass. Back in the real world, people bend conventions and rules all the time when it suits, and it was nice that she saw it as an important thing to do because- a wild stab - she might actually love you as a friend for some reason.
You sound joyless, however, and have quickly forgotten what a big deal having a baby is, especially if it's a first.

routinelife · 14/12/2024 01:10

Corporate world is so full of false pretentious egos stroked by titles and being associated with those titles.

Nothing really worthwhile happens in most of these meetings. Blah blah blah all showing how important knowledgeable and talented communicators they are.

Kindness, compassion is something they don't like to be associated with because they're oh so super important, busy with the real sort of busy-ness, the people making loads of money with all their incredible talent, you would think they were dipped in some special essence before being born.

Rant over 😆

Resilienceisimportant · 14/12/2024 01:08

leia24 · 13/12/2024 22:13

Meetings really can be interrupted and the world won't end..and it's nice she wanted to say goodbye

Totally. And it was an all day meeting. Surprised the board have this kind of time and that it was so important that two minutes would make or break the company.

Why is the natural reaction to be annoyed as she didn’t say “can I borrow you for a minute to say goodbye as I am going on Mat leave”. The way she asked to speak to you was completely professional and wouldn’t make the board think any less of you (or her).

Overreaction and you are taking yourself too seriously (and yeah I report to the board (sorry who actually says c suite) or a large multinational so have been in your shoes.

routinelife · 14/12/2024 00:59

WaitingforStrike · 13/12/2024 22:25

Does no one from the meeting ever go to the toilet, or eat? Someone stepping out for 2 minutes doesn't sound very disruptive

Exactly.

routinelife · 14/12/2024 00:58

Janedoe82 · 13/12/2024 22:18

Stop being so pretentious. I am a director and regularly at board meetings- it’s only work. Get your head out of your arse.

This.

I think you still need to learn people and compassion are more important than pretentious c-suite meetings. I have learnt my lesson kind of hard way.

RedHelenB · 14/12/2024 00:41

PandaAndLionRoar · 13/12/2024 22:59

When she first took me out of the meeting and said that it was just to say goodbye I honestly did think that was sweet and I was more than happy to say goodbye and I didn’t have a problem with it at that point. It was when I went back in to the meeting and everyone was asking me what the “urgent” thing was that she needed me for, that was the point when I started to feel awkward about it and a bit annoyed that she had took me out of the meeting to say bye.

Edited

Why didn't you just tell the truth?

Chocolatelabradorsarethebest · 14/12/2024 00:31

Did you have a meeting with the Board?!?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen ‘meeting’ and ‘board’ written so many times in a post, or anywhere for that matter!

KTSl1964 · 14/12/2024 00:31

As the song goes "let it go, let it go" your important meeting was a life or death meeting was it!!! Go to bed and rest your brain.

IdaGlossop · 14/12/2024 00:30

ItOnlyTakesTwoMinutes · 13/12/2024 22:09

I’m trying to stay quiet if I have nothing nice to say… 😂

Me too

Thedogscollar · 14/12/2024 00:28

blueshoes · 14/12/2024 00:11

Sure and so are you.

Show quote history

Ain't that the truth 😚

Manxexile · 14/12/2024 00:23

daliesque · 13/12/2024 22:48

But...how rude of people to ask? If I was the chair at a push I'd politely ask 'is everything OK?'. Not because I cared just in case there was a reason I couldn't carry on with the meeting.

If that was my meeting that was interrupted with something "urgent" that required an interruption to a meeting I, as Chief Medical Officer for a hospital (not boasting, just point out what level of staff are in these c level meetings) then I'd want to know what it was as it could potentially have a massive impact on the hospital (or company or whatever delete as appropriate).

FFS can't you credit the OP with even a little intelligence?

She's been in a board meeting all day so I presume she has more than a very basic understanding of what her organisation does and what might or might not be something that could potentially have a massive impact on it.

If it were something that could potentially have a massive impact, don't you think she'd have the the gumption and common sense to realise that and to inform the meeting of that immediately on her return, without the need to be interrogated?

As others have said, all that is required is for one person - preferably the chair - to briefly enquire if there's anything that anybody in the meeting needs to know. Full stop.