Here’s a little research that caught my eye.
It may not seem relevant, but stick with me….. It matters.
“83% of C-level or president-level executives say curiosity is encouraged “a great deal” or “a good amount” at their company. Just 52% of individual contributors say the same.
While about half (49%) of the C-level believes curiosity is rewarded by salary growth, only 16% of individual contributors agree. A staggering 81% of individual contributors are convinced curiosity makes no material difference in their compensation.”
This research is about curiosity. I think you could substitute innovation, creativity, problem-solving, initiative and more. And you’d get similar results.
That means:
When you’d like your team to be more innovative, have encouraged that, but see no improved results - check for a gap.
When you’ve been encouraging leaders across the organization to show more initiative without seeing any changes - check for a gap.
When you’ve invested in training teams to work together more effectively…… with no demonstrable change - check for a gap.
And how to check the gap? An informal discussion in a team meeting. A short survey. Keep it simple.
If this resonates for you, check out the first half of the article.
This is a skill set you won’t read or hear much about. But to me - it’s a winner. A competitive advantage. I mean - how many leaders do you know that do this? Who make it a habit?
I don’t know the name of it - or if it has one, so I’ll call it “Mind the Gap.”
Wrapping up:
Leaders who mind the gap - between their perceptions and the experience of the people on their teams and across the organization…… Those are leaders who go beyond good intentions. They’re the leaders with a head start on creating real change.
