I think you probably should go ahead with this meeting. Not every person can attend every meeting, of course. There may well be other meetings that you will also have to proceed on without her. Just be very sure to keep copies of your multiple attempts to schedule and reschedule any meetings to include this person, so it is clear that you have bent over backwards to include her (I hope you are doing this via email or in print somehow, so you can easily document this, or at least make a note in your calendar). Keep records of her confirming that she will attend a meeting, and then cancelling at the last minute. Also, make sure to take some kind of notes or minutes for any meetings to do with this project. Do this for all meetings, whether she attends or not. If she misses a meeting you will be able pass on the minutes to her, and you will also have a good record on what is accomplished in any meetings, which is probably useful to have anyway. When you pass on the minutes to her, be sure to offer to get together with her individually if she needs clarification on anything in the minutes or that was discussed in the meeting she missed. You can try talking to your interim supervisor, especially if this interim person will be in charge for some months (keep a record of it if you do.) Once your regular supervisor returns, then try what Dane Pollei suggests - meet with the regular supervisor and say what you have done so far on the project, and note the impediments that have come up that are causing problems in completing it in a timely way. Ask for help/advice. Just be sure to document/take notes on any meetings either with the problem person or about the problem person. Document, document, document the problem, basically. The more documentation you have - on the problems with meetings, on her erratic attendance, etc., the better chance you have of some action. ________________________________ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gayle Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 3:33 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] ANONYMOUS REQUEST: How to Deal with a Problematic Coworker I've received a request for assistance and am protecting the identify of the original poster. Please see the dilemma below and post to the list your suggestions how to deal with this conundrum. Many thanks to those who can offer guidance. It may be something some of you have experienced heretofore and can provide creative solutions. I'm dealing with a coworker who is very unreliable and undependable. The rest of us never know when she will actually be in to work or how long she'll stay that day. When she is actually at work she is not a bad person to work with by any means. My boss is aware of this issue and it's been going on as long as I've worked there and from what I can gather, even longer than that. Currently my boss is away on leave and our interim supervisor is very clueless about all of this. I am in charge of a project involving her and another coworker. It's hard to find time to meet as there is only 1 day a week when all 3 of us are there together at the same time. This project has been stalled because she repeatedly can't make meetings for one reason or another. I had a meeting scheduled for today to discuss the project and make action plans for the upcoming weeks and months but she can't make it. I realize my most pressing concern is timely and there may not be any instantaneous replies, but I am in the "wrong" for going on with the meeting even though it will just be me and the other coworker? I feel not working on this project makes the institution look bad as it is related to our strategic plan and goals for the year and it's in our best interest to move forward. Any thoughts on collaborating with this particular coworker? ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).