Let me tell you something—delegation is a beautiful thing… until it isn’t.
I learned this lesson the hard way (of course) and, baby, it cost me!
I was managing a situation with my resident that involved safety.
I was very busy and thought I had everything under control.
I thought I had nailed it.
All the moving parts were in place, people were handling their jobs, and I was feeling pretty confident.
Then bam!
A complaint visit popped up, and guess who was at the center of it all?
Yours truly.
These were the days, when you put in a complaint, and my field office was at your door within 24 hours. (LOL)
That's literally how fast it happened. I had even spoken to the family, and they knew everything that I was working on.
What happened, you ask? I did the work, or so I thought, but what I didn’t do was the most critical part—document it.
Yep, I had crossed all the "t's" and dotted all the "i's" physically, but I left a key component wide open.
I didn’t follow through with the paperwork, the process, or the final touches.
And baby, let me tell you, the lesson hit me hard.
Now, I’ve become so obsessed with follow-through that I even trademarked the phrase.
Yep, you read that right: But Did You Follow Through?
It’s on my products, my training materials, and practically everything I touch!
Because in this role—whether you're the Director of Nursing, a manager, or a supervisor—delegating tasks is just the beginning.
It’s not enough to assign work; you have to make sure it comes back completed, and more importantly, it has to be correct.
Another lesson from the School of Hard Knocks: just because someone says they’ve done the task doesn’t mean it’s done the way it needs to be.
Trust me, I learned that the hard way too. Following up on delegated tasks isn’t micromanaging; it’s protecting your outcomes.
You have to check it, and if it's not right, guess what? It’s still on you to fix it.
This role requires constant follow-through.
You’ve got to be the hawk in the room, keeping an eye on every moving piece and ensuring that what you delegate actually gets done—and done right.
Missing one small detail can come back to bite you in ways you never imagined.
If you want something thats more in depth checkout this video, where I spill all the tea on how to keep your ship sailing smoothly and avoid the pitfalls of poor follow-through.
Don’t make the same mistakes I did! 😬
Watch the full video here:
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