Why shadowing will transform your management practice
99%* of managers miss out on this method to improve their practice… 💡
… I’m talking about shadowing.
Why is shadowing so important?
Every role that has an internal customer-facing attribute, such as with teachers, managers or inhouse consultants, lacks quality control. You usually interact with a group or individuals on your own. There are some management tandems, granted, but this form is rare.
What does shadowing do?
As a manager you get a valuable echo on how you:
- hold 1:1s
- conduct feedback talks in a human and humane way
- interview, ideally without micro-aggressions or bias showing
- mentor, coach and motivate
- which tools you can further build up in your toolkit
But, Franziska, these conversations are confidential, you can’t shadow!
True, to certain degree. A) You can always try to get consent. B) For interviewing practice, no manager should hold interviews until they shadowed at least twice. We do this regularly.
In practice, I had enough people give their consent to be able to have ALL (!) manager colleagues shadow me in my unit. Team handovers are a gold mine for that.
What does shadowing give you?
Feedback and observations from your colleagues help to improve, fill niches and reflect on yourself. It hold you accountable and makes you a better leader.
❓ So… have you shadowed anyone at work? Have you been shadowed? What would you see as concerns and benefits of shadowing? ❓
*The 99% is an estimated number. But one with foundations. Before my current workplace I have NEVER seen this in my career, and neither has my community as far as has been told to me.
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