Who’s Shadowing Who?

Seven years running, Katherine was the leading seller in her company. The closest anyone ever came to her was still 41% behind her in revenues generated.

Last October, she left the company, and as a result, sales to the accounts she had handled quickly shriveled.

Her boss and colleagues were left wondering: what had made her so effective, and how could they replicate her success? But it was too late to ask.

Such problems—and many others—can be avoided with a simple practice: job shadowing.

Job shadowing is often used for training, onboarding, or career development. It can smooth out succession processes and ensure continuity from one employee to another.

Ideally, the person doing the shadowing will document, in writing, observations such as the following:

• What rules of thumb does the person use when making decisions?
• What kind of goals do they set, and how do they measure progress each day?
• What specific processes, principles and practices do they use?
• Who are their key contacts? How often and in what way do they communicate with each of these contacts?
• What expectations do they set for others with whom they interact (e.g., customers, partners, suppliers and colleagues)?
• How do they allocate their time? (What don't they do?)
• What beliefs and values do they hold dear?

These are questions the "shadowee" doesn't often ask him or herself, and they would have trouble documenting the answers on their own.

They're typically too busy to write such things down. And often they don't have the interest, objectivity or skillset to spell out what makes them different from others, and so successful.

Job shadowing builds and protects institutional knowledge. Without a practice like this, when a top performer leaves, their former employer is, well, out of luck.

For these reasons and more, it’s worth the effort to proactively decide which positions—and which people—should be shadowed… and by whom. Each such experience benefits the shadower, the shadowee, and the company.

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I help successful leaders and their teams agree on what needs to change and how to make it happen. I am the author of?Fearless?Growth and?The Agility Advantage.?

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