In my recent posts, I've encouraged senior leaders to shadow front-line workers. One problem with this recommendation is that most senior leaders don't know how to shadow front-line workers. This isn't true just in healthcare, but in every industry.
And it's important to note that it's not their fault. It's not something that is taught in business school - although it should be. It's one of the most effective ways for senior leaders to know what's really going on in their organizations.
There are some key points to shadowing that make sure it does a lot of good, and as importantly, does not create problems. Let's review these at a high level. Subsequent posts will go into detail on each key point.
Key Points on How to Shadow Effectively
1) Choose who to shadow carefully, especially the first few times. Pick someone you already have a good relationship with. You're learning how to do this so it helps to work with someone who will cut you some slack.
2) Be prepared - not just you, but everyone who will be involved in the experience. Usually, the leader will be shadowing one person for 2-3 hours. Of course, that person usually works with a team of others. Don't surprise the team. (More on this in a later post.)
3) Make sure you will not be interrupted by other administrative demands. If you commit to focusing on a person or work unit, and then you spend time there putting out fires somewhere else, people will wonder if you honor your commitments.
4) Schedule a follow-up meeting to debrief the experience within a week, ideally two days. You'll have questions. The person and team you shadowed will have questions or want to share specifics of the day. The sooner you debrief, the more accurately everyone will remember the specifics. You'll have plenty to talk about.
I'll go into details of each of these recommendations individually in the next posts.
Advanced preparation is critical to ensure that shadowing is a positive experience for everyone. To learn more about those details, 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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