Most of us are minding the wrong gap.
When we’re at a train station, it’s pretty obvious which gap you need to be mindful of – the one between the platform and the train. Don’t drop your phone, misstep, or get your wheelie luggage stuck there.
Almost every leader I coach is minding the wrong gap. They’re looking at all the places they’ve been told they fall short or need to get stronger, and they focus most of their attention there.
The challenge with this strategy is that it runs counter to strengths-based leadership, which suggests that people learn more effectively when they build on their strengths. Focusing on strengths is often more engaging, less difficult, and easier for the brain to learn new things.
Not to mention the costs associated with always focusing on where you need to improve. For instance… the exhaustion and mental fatigue of always pushing to do better, the inherent self-criticism, the crappy mood that you end up in as a result of both. All of this then bleeds into your interactions with others.
But by staring too hard at that gap… you might be missing another one. The one between who you think you are and the one others already see.
Most of the time, others see a bigger, bolder, smarter, more skilled version of ourselves than we see. And if we don’t see it, we do ourselves a big disservice.
Here’s what I mean by that. Earlier in my coaching career, I held the belief that I shouldn’t be coaching C-suite leaders. It wasn’t true, but I was buying into it anyway. And for a while, it got in the way of my own growth.
The fix is easier than you’d think. ⬇️
Show up as the version of you that you aspire to be. Even before you fully believe it.
The gap worth paying attention to isn’t the one you’ve been staring at.
So, how would the best version of you show up today?
