One of the most common questions I hear from Chiefs of Staff is:
How do I get people to actually follow through on what they said they’d do?
Let me tell you about a Chief of Staff I coached—let’s call her Marnie.
When we first started working together, Marnie was deeply frustrated.
“We have smart, capable people,” she said. “But stuff still falls through the cracks—and no one seems all that surprised when it does.”
Her team wasn’t trying to drop the ball. But in the absence of clear follow-up and shared expectations, action items just… disappeared.
So we worked on three small habits that changed everything.
1. Lead the way
Marnie started modeling a new rhythm in her meetings. At the end of every conversation, she’d say:
👉 “Let’s take a minute to make sure we’re aligned on who’s doing what, and by when.”
She wrote it down—every time. Then, at the start of the next meeting, she’d say:
👉 “Okay, quick check-in from last time. I committed to X by [date], and you committed to Y. Here’s where I landed—how about you?”
No finger-pointing. No shame. Just consistency.
2. Be consistent
At first, people came unprepared. Deadlines had slipped. Tasks weren’t done. But instead of scolding, Marnie responded with calm accountability:
👉 “Totally get it—we’ve all got a lot going on. What do you need to get this back on track?”
And something shifted.
People started prepping before meetings with her. They came ready with updates. Follow-through improved—not because she cracked down, but because she modeled what it looked like to follow through.
3. Track the commitments
We explored a few different systems until Marnie found what worked for her:
- A shared doc for each 1:1, with action items and due dates
- A simple task list (like Slack Lists or Google Keep)
- A project tool (like Asana or Monday) when teamwide visibility mattered
A simple Trello board was the right choice for Marnie’s team. But Marnie also noted that the tool mattered less than the consistency.
The long game
What Marnie really wanted wasn’t just project updates. It was a culture where people could count on each other to deliver—or speak up when they couldn’t.
If you stay friendly, firm, and consistent, that kind of culture is absolutely within reach.
And in Marnie’s case? She started seeing the shift in less than 60 days.
