Up to this point in our Seven Behaviors Leadership Series we have talked about Knowing Your People and Knowing Your Business, Insisting on Realism , Setting Clear Goals and Priorities.
In today’s entry we are going to discuss follow through. I have disclosed my follow through epiphany story a couple of times on this and a couple other blogs. It really was the turning point for me in my career as the point of follow through hit me right between the eyes. It was one of the those duh! moments.
Multifamily Team Follow Through
That said and on the heels of our Relentless Courage a couple weeks ago. The post spoke to people withholding comments and feedback in group meeting forums. So much gets missed if we don’t encourage an open culture where feedback is paramount to getting better. Once you have the sharing culture set in place; follow through should be next on the list.
Four Things to Consider
1. Team leaders/communicators have to make objectives or action items very clear. Ask clarifying questions such as; Do you understand what is expected? or Is there anything you don’t understand about what we need to get accomplished?.
2. Help people understand the ‘Why behind the what’ of follow through items. Helping people see the big picture assists with two things
a. They see the action item as a mission and not a task
b. They understand that the action is assisting in the creation of something bigger than self. A key motivating factor for many
3. Set the right follow through mechanisms in place. Who is responsible? How will they track? Who will they report out to? When?
4. Ask questions along the way. Don’t just assign and forget. As the leader, it is imperative that you check in along the way.
5. Always conduct postmortems? Review the results of follow through or lack thereof. There is tremendous value in replaying events.
Your off to follow through on today’s commitments contributor,
0 Responses
I often associate the word follow through with a QB of a football team. Coach draws up a play, gives everyone their assignments but if the QB does not through the flipping ball or the receiver blows the pattern it results in failure. Everyone has to do their part in order to see success. You outline crucial steps to facilitate the process. I have been loving your series Mike. Have a great weekend sir.