Do not be late

There is just something about time and tardiness, as you will see in the following stories:

An upset boss says, “This is the third time you’ve been late for work this week. Do you know what that means?”

The employee responded that it was only Wednesday.

And here is another one:

An irate boss says: “You’re four hours late! What’s the matter?”

Employee: “I fell from the 2nd floor this morning.”

Boss: “That’s 20 feet tall! It shouldn’t take you more than five seconds!”

Trust is one of the essential elements of leadership. It is earned over time and maintained by consistency, reliability, and meeting obligations.

As seen in this paper, a recent study conducted by the University of Toronto and Stanford University has established a fascinating finding: people rate work as being of lower quality if it is submitted late – even when the quality of the work is the same as that submitted on time.

This has profound implications for leaders.

Leadership means every leader has to know that every action they take speaks a lot. Any leader or team member delivering their work promptly sends a message of discipline, responsibility, and dependability.

Conversely, whenever people are late, or deadlines are not met, it conveys the wrong message of disorder and unethical behavior.

The study found that managers and executives who were the evaluators of the work rated the late work as lower in quality than the on-time work – even though the content was the same.

The only fact that the work was late affected the evaluators’ perception of the quality of the work and the trustworthiness of the person submitting the work. This matters a lot.

Leaders need to know that their image is determined by their hard work or abilities and how they perform.

More time spent on improving a project may improve it. However, if that means that the project will be delivered late, the quality of the project will be perceived to be lower.

In essence, the late delivery overshadows the hard work you put in.

This principle applies to attending meetings, submitting reports, or meeting project targets. Every aspect of leadership calls for communication, responsiveness, and commitment, and the same applies to fulfilling these aspects.

If a leader gives and honors their word, the leader gains credibility. If they learn to delay or not meet deadlines, they lose credibility.

Furthermore, the study found that late work is not only a delivery problem but also a moral character problem.

Leaders who fail to meet deadlines will be perceived as having poor integrity, and people will be less likely to trust them with future tasks.

Leadership is about generating belief, and no one demolishes belief faster than a leader who does not keep promises.

Late arrival communicates to your colleagues that your time is more precious than theirs. Nobody loves waiting for others and the delay that comes with it.

It displays unethical conduct toward colleagues, clients, and team members who need your services.

Good leaders are those leaders who respect people by adhering to time and schedules – and also appreciating the consequences of delayed delivery.

Avoid the “planning fallacy” – when you believe you will need less time to accomplish something or to reach your destination. Set realistic goals and deadlines within the organization to accommodate any eventuality.

It is crucial to note that excellence is essential.

However, if a project is 90 percent excellent and delivered on time, it will be better received than a 100-percent perfect project delivered late.

Delivery time is also an essential factor in determining the quality of service delivery.

Circumstances beyond your control can impact your ability to meet deadlines or arrive on time, and transparency is crucial.

According to the study, people are more forgiving when delays are communicated in advance.

Professor Sam Maglio of the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Rotman School of Management said, “As an employee if the reason for missing the deadline is outside your control, you should let your manager know. Those are among the few people who cut you a break.”

Teams take cues from their leaders. By consistently meeting deadlines and holding others accountable, you establish a culture of timeliness and execution.

The goal of leadership extends beyond creating a vision to achieving successful execution.

Punctuality is a trust-building strategy instead of being treated as just a project management skill.

As a leader, you must develop a reputation for completing tasks on schedule without exceptions.

The act of being late damages both projects and your leadership reputation.

Francis Kong’s “Inspiring Excellence” podcast is now available on Spotify, Apple, Google, and other podcast streaming platforms.