The Practical Gaps

In Part One, we wrote about Gaps that organizations of all shapes and sizes consistently face. Those Gaps were more philosophical; the Gaps in Part Two are very practical. 

The Remote Gap

On a global scale, 16% of organizations are fully remote, and 40% operate on a hybrid model combining in-office and remote work. The huge shift away from the office changed the balance of managerial systems forever. People experienced and largely enjoyed the freedom of remote working and don’t always want to return to the office.

In many cases, more flexible working locations have led to increased organisational diversity, allowing, for example, mothers returning to the workforce to take on part-time jobs they would have otherwise been unable to.

On the other hand, leaders feel that communication too often breaks down without proximity, and efficiency and innovation suffer. However, despite attempts from the world's largest companies to mandate a return to the office, many employees will not go.

So, instead of returning to the way things were, embrace the new - working remotely with your team can be joyful and super productive if you know a few shortcuts.

There are numerous ways to leverage the opportunities that remote working offers. These interventions needn’t be costly; they don't have to involve flying the whole team to an exotic location. They are patterns that can be taught and spread throughout the organization to improve culture and work.

The Generation Gap

First, it was a meme, then it became a defining trope: Millennials and Generation X do not want to be told what to do, especially not when they do not feel aligned with the organization's purpose.

More and more millennials and younger generations are making up the workforce, and they often refuse to accept traditional roles and instead LARP (Live Action Role Play) a ‘good’ employee. 

On the other hand, they can be guilty of relying on their ‘boundaries’ to avoid truly engaging and learning to work together through thick and thin. The churn, turnover, and drama that ensues can devastate an organization.  

Furthermore, identity is an important issue and different generations treat it differently. This can include gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, language and neuro-diversity. Bridging the gap here can involve facilitating deep listening processes and agreements. 

Learning how to communicate through and around the Generation Gap is essential for team health.

Different generations can learn how to adult together.

Practice leveraging each generation's innate power and strengths (i.e., the power of experience, the power of less baggage and new ideas, the power of idealism and skepticism) whilst acknowledging that these flow through and across all generations.

The Power Gap 

People are bored of having to fake respect for incompetent managers. 

It’s a joke that has become unfunny for those on the receiving end: managers rise to the level of their incompetence when they can no longer do the work they manage.

We all recognise the resigned loathing that ensues when a person has been promoted and no longer implements, but assumes power over those who do the work. This ‘winner’ risks losing perspective on the reality of what the job entails.

This pathetic jostling forces people with subject matter mastery to give up on passionate and meaningful work that might not be recognised on the advancement track. Most org charts reinforce this trap. The management track is the only way to climb the corporate conveyor belt.

Encourage non-managers to question and offer critical feedback and place emphasis on other roles that are of strategic or operational importance, which aren’t hierarchical management tasks.  

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As a leader, none of this will be a surprise to you.

Sensing tension and gaps is a skill and a way of being for founders and leaders. The big question is, what are you prepared to do about it? Seeing all of these together can be overwhelming and complex. But they are there! Are they a low hum in the background, or are they debilitating?  

We can help you take the overwhelm out of the opportunity and clearly, practically, and pragmatically create the space and a plan to start nudging the areas that will make the biggest impact. If you are interested in talking, drop us a line askmindthegaps@gmail.com