7
Follow Through on a Plan of Action

“Visions that stay in the stars are visions that were poorly executed,” says John Baldoni in How Great Leaders Get Great Results. An unexecuted or poorly executed plan to change an employee’s behavior really is no better than wishful thinking.

Once you and an employee have drawn up a blueprint for corrective action, monitor its execution strategically. The best way is with follow-up meetings. Face to face is the best approach. An employee might dress up his or her progress in a written report. Meet regularly with the employee to gauge his or her progress.

Try meeting weekly after a crisis and then schedule the meetings less frequently as the employee makes progress. Keep the meetings short and on point. Ask for updates on new strategies. Consider scheduling the meetings during a coffee break or lunchtime on occasion to make doubly sure they take place. When you’re running a business, time is one of your most precious resources and it often has to do double duty if you want to get things done.

The follow-up meetings convey the message that a plan of action is important to you and that you expect results. And you wouldn’t want it any other way.