How many times has someone committed to you and failed to follow through?
It’s frustrating, right?
When leaders commit to others, they risk their reputation if they fail to deliver.
Follow-up is crucial if you want to build trust to influence action. If you promised to have an answer by the end of the day … even if you were not able to meet this deadline, take a minute or two that it takes to let your listener know you are still working on it and when you will get back to them.
You can take three daily actions to ensure you are not jeopardizing your reputation.
- Deadlines are important, so follow up with your team. If you are waiting on your team to complete a task for you to deliver on a deadline, follow up for regular status updates. This will reaffirm team priorities and spot any challenges they may face.
- Make each meeting matter. Follow up afterward with meeting notes and action items when you host a meeting. This reassures attendees you prioritize your time together and have taken ownership to get answers back promptly.
- Master meet and greets by following up on introductions. When meeting someone for the first time, whether it’s a prospect, colleague, employee or partner, follow up in an email or phone call. This solidifies your introduction and helps build a stronger relationship.
- You get what you give. Clients will reach out when they need something and expect us to respond immediately. Then, when we reach out later about a new subject, it’s like crickets on their end. I often tell our clients, “How you behave is how others respond.” If you only follow through when you need something and don’t respond the same way to others, you jeopardize having consistent influence.
Having an influential reputation requires consistency in everything you do. Commit to follow through each time and watch your reputation grow.
