Tuesday is my follow up day. Every week, I go through my list and send follow-up emails and make follow up phone calls to people who said they would get back to me but didn’t. Every week, my hope is to have an empty list. It hasn’t happened yet. Whether it’s something personal of professional, I am constantly following up with people who have failed to follow through. It is exhausting.
Unfortunately, I know I am not alone. This is the way of the world. People tell you they’ll get back to you by Friday, send the quote by Tuesday or let you know if you got the job by Thursday. The days come and go, and we are left wondering how and when to appropriately follow up. We don’t want to come off pushy or rude, so we word the email a certain way. Somehow, we are left feeling bad because others did not hold up their end of the bargain. A little backwards if you ask me.
There are several reasons for this lack of follow through culture we have created. It is shaped by priorities and values and positions of power. Lack of accountability. Leverage. A boss waiting on something from someone on her team is in a naturally different position than that same person waiting on something from his boss. Some people use deadlines and promises loosely, not seeing the importance in adhering to them quite so literally. Others are overwhelmed and don’t have the proper systems in place to stay on top of the many moving pieces of their lives. Certainly, there are themes and certainly there is nuance to people and their situations. There are a lot of reasons and a lot of factors that contribute to people not following through. There are a lot of reasons you have given to others for not following through.
DON’T ASCRIBE TO ANY OF THEM!
Today, I begin our revolution of following through.
No questions asked. Without fail. Regardless of position or privilege.
It’s time to take back our follow through culture.
Many people are far more understanding than I when it comes to others following through, but I would bet there’s not a person on the planet who enjoys or appreciates it. What about you? When was the last time someone told you he would call you or email you or send you something and then he didn’t? How did that make you feel? How did it affect you? What were the consequences? When was the time before that? And before that? And before that? Exhausted yet?
What about the last time someone promised to get back to you by a certain date and she did? No follow up needed. Delivered as promised. What was your impression of her? Did you decide to do business with her again? Or promote her? Or hire her?
The good news is, even though we are overwhelmed and never have as much time as we would like, following through on our promises and our deadlines is easy and doable. In fact, of all the ways we exhibit our professionalism and value for others and their time, following through consistently is one of the most impactful. Thankfully it is also the most universal- absolutely anyone can do it and do it well. All it takes is a commitment and a couple of tools and systems in place to make it easier.
WHY YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THROUGH
It makes life easier for yourself– Having multiple items hanging over your head can cause distraction, lack of focus and unnecessary anxiety. On the other hand, crossing items off your to-do list always feels good and productive and is in fact productive when prioritized well. Items that can be taken care of quickly (a simple question via email) should be. Items that will take longer should be given the time and attention they deserve. If you do not follow through, you will get reminder emails and calls from the people waiting for whatever it is your promised. This takes up extra time of which there is so little. If there is no system in place, when you do finally get around to following through, you will waste more of your precious time searching for that email or that phone number. Make your life easier by following through consistently and efficiently.
It makes life easier for those around you– It is easy to get caught up in what is in it for us but doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing is a pretty good strategy for navigating life. Exercise your emotional intelligence and exhibit empathy by putting yourself in others’ shoes. It should not be difficult as it is likely you are wearing those same shoes as you wait for something from someone else. Why not save someone else from the frustration you are enduring? Why not make someone else’s life a little bit easier? But if you just can’t bring yourself to do something good for goodness sake, know that this practice does benefit you in the long run (see above and below)
It creates a positive impression and reputation– Whether personally or professionally, being reliable and consistent helps create a positive impression and reputation of you among your circle (and often their circle and theirs…) Friends and family will be grateful, and bosses, co-workers and clients will take note. When it comes time for a big opportunity, leaders will look to those they can trust and rely on, not those they need to follow up with constantly. When it comes to repeat business, clients are far more likely to come back if you delivered as promised the first time around. If you are leading a team, who do you think they will be more loyal and more dedicated to- the boss who takes the time to treat them as human beings or the one who constantly ignores them and makes them follow up on everything?
It creates a culture– Leading by example is powerful and necessary. When others see the way you operate, it inspires them to do the same. If not inspire, perhaps guilt them into it. She always gets me what I need. Let me make sure to get this to her. That won’t always be the case of course, but it will be sometimes and even sometimes helps. If you supervise others and expect follow through, it is absolutely essential that you do the same. Showing your team that, despite all the busy you are still able to follow through, sends the message that this is both possible and important. You show your values by living them, not just listing them on your company website.
HOW YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THROUGH
Put the dates on your calendar– Just like deadlines on assignments or meetings, when you promise someone to call or email back, put it on your calendar. You know all the bells and whistles your respective calendar has. Set your notifications accordingly and use them.
Keep all items that need to be followed through on in the same place– More than assignments, it is often emails and phone calls that fail to receive their proper follow through. As for emails, keep them in the same follow through For phone calls, schedule the follow up call and put it on your calendar. If digital organizers work, use them. If post-it notes and paper calendars work, use those. You know what systems work best for you. Try out different ones until you find the most effective.
Set aside time specifically for follow through– Like my weekly Tuesday morning follow through, find a time in your schedule every week to go through your folders and whatever other systems you have devised to follow through on assignments, calls and emails. Naturally, some weeks will take longer than others, but you will begin to see an average of about how much time this will take. Set that time as a recurring appointment on your calendar and adjust accordingly when it is a particularly heavy follow through week.
If you simply can’t get to it, let the person know– If you must extend the date you committed to, let the other person know with as much notice as possible. This will allow them to adjust their own schedule and needs accordingly. Waiting until the last minute is less than ideal but is better than not notifying them at all. Particularly if you have promised something by Friday and are putting the person in the position of having to wait another weekend for it.
Set reasonable expectations– Be realistic about your schedule and how long it takes you to get to items on your list. Often, we do not follow through because we are overly optimistic about our ability to do so. Begin paying attention and keeping track of how long it takes so you know how to better gauge in the future. Be conscious of your daily and weekly schedule and the times of year that are more or less busy for you and adjust your expectations accordingly.
Be clear– Often, due to a lack of clarity, one person is expecting something in one day from someone who is expecting to deliver it in 10. Words like soon and phrases like not too long mean entirely different thing to different people. Instead, use actual days, dates and times that lend themselves to far less confusion. I will get back you by Wednesday the 10th is far better than as soon as I can.
If you do drop the ball, own up to it– Telling people that your email was down or the message went into spam or whatever else may be true comes off as an excuse. Too often, the excuse is not true and people know it further damaging your credibility. But even if it is, they don’t really care. They care about the result. So when you drop the ball, own up to it. Apologize for the inconvenience and assure them that it won’t happen again. And for the love of all that is holy, do apologize. There seems to be a trend of “Thanks for following up” that I find deflecting and unsatisfying. Apologize and make it right.
Our lives are busy and full, and in most cases, far too busy and full to function in any type of healthy or effective way. Sometimes, there is simply no way to get to everything we need to get to. In many cases, however, we can, but we don’t because of poor planning and self-management on our part. Often, we use busyness as a universal excuse for not following through when we have every ability to do so. Make a commitment to yourself and those in your life, both personally and professionally to become a person of your word. This will not only help them but you as well. Once you commit to doing this, you will see it does not create extra work on your part, but instead, saves you time in the long run. It also makes for a much more positive experience for everyone involved. So, when are you going to start?
One Response