Manager doesn’t respect employees’ time

DEAR HARRIETTE: My manager has a habit of scheduling meetings that often run long, and they frequently overlap with other commitments on my calendar. Most of the time, these overlapping commitments are networking chats with colleagues. I know that my primary responsibility is to prioritize my manager and my team’s work, but I feel like I’m constantly in the awkward position of having to cancel or reschedule those networking meetings at the last minute. It’s especially uncomfortable when I have to push back on someone’s time just minutes before the meeting starts; I worry it makes me look unprofessional or like I don’t value that person’s time. At the same time, I don’t want my boss to think I’m unwilling to be flexible since I understand things come up and meetings don’t always run on schedule.