Don't Just Check the Box

How often have you laid out for your team, perhaps in a presentation followed by a clearly written document, a future state for the team as well as the strategies for getting there.  And, you wait, and wait, and nothing happens.

This is the situation that Marshall Goldsmith addresses in “Don’t Just Check the Box”.  Though written four years ago, his advice is as timely today as it was in 2005.

Goldsmith notes “We all want to believe that our comments have great meaning.  We usually assume that the people around us are smart, and they can understand what we’re saying and see the value of our remarks.  We’re often busy and overcommitted.  We all wish we could just move on to the next item on our list.”  But to do that, we need the team to act.

What’s missing?  Follow-up!  After communicating, we must follow-up to make sure that people really understand, that they are bought-in, that they will do the work necessary to reach the future state.  Follow-up takes time but is absolutely necessary if our goals are to be reached.

.  .  .  .  .     jim