Archive | March 25, 2011

Be an expert in follow up

*Post 5 in the 30 Posts in 30 Days Challenge

Last night I was at a workshop delivered by two family physicians who both have long and distinguished careers as leaders in healthcare, from having executive positions in the college of physicians to running hospitals. One key piece of advice they provided was to be an expert in follow up.

What is follow up? I’m not completely sure, but I think it has to do with checking in with people (both yourself and others) and see how progress is going. It means seeing if people are on pace and holding them accountable for their goals. Follow up with others is by no means an easy subject – sometimes it means getting on someone’s back for not getting the job done. That’s never fun, and not particularly easy, as you can imagine. Follow up also means re-evaluating your own progress and making sure you are on pace so you get a good example.

What do you think the phrase means? What does it mean to you?