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"Be prepared" to ensure a great shadowing experience

Writer's picture: Paul DeChant MD, MBAPaul DeChant MD, MBA

Updated: Jan 15


shadowing experience

Now that you are moving ahead, and getting ready to shadow, it's important to be prepared to ensure a great shadowing experience, not only for yourself but for the person you will shadow and their team members.


When everyone who will be involved in the experience knows what's happening and why, you reduce anxiety and open the door for participation and learning. Usually, the leader will be shadowing one person for 2-3 hours. That person usually works with a team of others.


It's vitally important that you don't surprise the team. When a senior leader shows up unannounced in the workplace, people worry. In most people's past experience, such leaders only show up at the front lines when something bad has happened, or is about to happen.


Preparing includes the following steps:

  • Schedule a time that is representative of a typical day.

  • Check with the team to be sure that the time chosen won't stress the team's resources due to unforeseen circumstances, if you can.

  • Let the person you're shadowing and the team know what to expect:

    • You'll arrive at a certain time,

    • Get a brief orientation to the unit and its workflows,

    • Follow the "designated shadowee" for 2-3 hours, and

    • Have a debrief session within 1-2 business days.

  • Let them know what not to expect:

    • You won't be asking a lot of questions, they need to do their work,

    • You won't be passing judgment, you're there to be curious and learn

    • Unless you see a serious safety risk that demands immediate attention, you won't interrupt the work.


Follow-up is also important. We'll cover that in another post to come.


To learn more about this process, schedule a call with me, I'd love to help you do this right.


Dr. Paul DeChant is a leadership coach dedicated to helping CEOs create organizations where their people and their businesses thrive.



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