Winning Conversations with ‘POISE NOW’: Step 8 - Way Forward

The final step to get clarity on what action will be taken, by whom, when and how this will be followed up on.

Summarise what has been covered and what it is you are both agreeing to. The SMART acronym can help when crafting an action plan: 

• Specifics: who exactly, how exactly, what exactly—the devil is in the detail. Unmet expectations are the child of unarticulated assumptions at the planning stage.
• Measurables: how we will know when it’s completed, when will it be reviewed? Will this be formal or informal, will it be a specific date or linked to a specific event? 
• Achievables: ensure that the goals set are realistic and workable. 
• Relevant: pertaining to the requirements
• Timebound: set deadlines for review and completion

Document if necessary and ensure that you have frankly talked through the type and frequency of follow-up.

Action

Write out the questions that you will use to help to draw up a SMART agreement regarding the situation e.g.

• ‘What specifically are each of us agreeing to do?’
• ‘How will we know we’ve achieved what we set out to do?’
• ‘When would be a realistic time for completion?’ 

This is the final step in Mary Rafferty's 8 step series on Winning Conversations with POISE NOW. The other steps can be found here:

• Step 1 - Purpose
• Step 2 - Open
• Step 3 - Inquire
• Step 4 - Share
• Step 5 - Emotions
• Step 6 - Needs
• Step 7 - Options