Build Bridges not Bandaids
We all have gaps – gaps in our skill set, gaps in our performance, gaps in our relationships. They might be easier to see now that we’re rolling in 2024.
Gaps are the distance between where we are and where we want to be.
Easily said and easily understood maybe, but in practice it’s anything but easy. It can be a profound and challenging process that takes one thing to begin.
Acknowledging the gap. Admitting that you’re not where you want to be, not just at a superficial level. But coming to terms with it in quiet moments with yourself. And not letting it stop you.
This isn’t about a superficial nod to our shortcomings. Acknowledging the gaps takes getting present and admitting to yourself that you’re not where you really want to be. It’s about facing the quiet truths within ourselves and not letting the current shortfall hinder progress. It involves confronting any embarrassment or discomfort about our current status and the daunting work ahead. It's a journey that demands courage and resilience to continue moving forward despite recognizing our deficits.
Closing the gap isn't about quick fixes, bandaids or cosmetic changes.
Do you remember Mr. Potato Head? No matter how you rearrange the pieces, the essence remains the same. Superficial modifications like changing a website, logo, or team name might create the illusion of progress, but they don't address the underlying gap. The real work, the bridge to where you want to be, is deep and transformative, requiring a fundamental shift rather than surface-level adjustments.
A friend of mine, Des Hague, a 9x CEO understands having to close the gap well. When he stepped in as CEO of Centerplate, an events hospitality company, it was struggling. They were losing marquee accounts, suffering from declining sales and low morale. The company had fallen victim to circumstances and had all the reasons and justifications for their current plight.
It took courage for Des, then the team, to stand up to transient ideas and a default resignation of being “less than”. To dig into the data to find and acknowledge what and where the gaps really were. They found a gap between the brand promise and what they were delivering. They found an execution gap. They even found gaps in their core offering and how they were investing in their teams… Identifying and closing those gaps resulted in Centerplate going on to be the largest events hospitality company in Sports and Entertainment in North America, delivering 6 years of double digit growth, tripling profits and employee satisfaction ranking off the charts.
What’s most inspiring to me about that isn’t the huge financial win (although, who wouldn’t want that?!). What gets me is the willingness to identify the vulnerabilities. Unearthing those things – for our companies and ourselves – can be daunting as it invites judgment and criticism. But it’s also something else: an opportunity to build a supportive culture oriented around growth. By acknowledging our current state and sharing our aspirations – we open ourselves up to new ideas, encouragement from others and collaboration that isn’t otherwise possible. Gaps, as painful as they may be to acknowledge and address, give growth.
The path of least resistance will always be: keep doing what you’re doing. And worse, paying lip service to the gap and maybe bandaid-ing issues while not truely acknowledging what they are. The trap is changing superficial things that may appear different, but make no substantial difference. While doing the real work can sometimes look exactly the same on the surface, it may fundamentally change who you are underneath.
I’ve always loved this video put to Ira Glass’s acknowledgement of the gap. Ira frames the gap as the space between our current abilities and our taste. Noting the years of work and huge volumes of work many artists have between starting out and achieving performance at a level of their taste. Let me know what you think of it once you’ve taken a look.
To close the gap from where we are to where we want to be is never a straight line. It will be filled with challenges and setbacks. Obstacles and limits.
Let’s drop the bandaids and build bridges into that gap, forcing us out of complacency and into action. Action that will move you, and all of us, into the gap to realize the greater potential within our companies, communities and ourselves.