How many of you have used the
famous London Underground? The audio warning, “Mind the GAP” resounds
throughout the rail system and even has been immortalized on t-shirts, key
chains and bumper stickers. What this brings to mind is the social
contact GAP that we face on a regular basis. You don’t have to be on the
other side of the globe to experience the GAP, it can be anywhere at any time
in any location. What causes the GAP? I’m not sure that I have all
of the answers since I experienced the GAP recently when I attempted to
communicate a topic to a colleague. The GAP that was felt wasn’t one of
culture, education or language. What was experienced was the GAP in
conveying of thoughts and ideas to someone else. I have struggle to
pinpoint possible reasons and I can only deduce that it was a matter of
‘preparatory context’. In other words my ideas and conclusions came
totally out of the blue, no context, exact purpose or intended use.
How many times have trainers faced a similar situation? You are called to
deliver a training assignment, you make assumptions about the attendees and
ultimately the topic falls short of their expectations. In retrospect we
have to recognize that it was the GAP that opened the opportunity for
disconnection and possibly our consistency propagated a widening in the
delivery GAP.
In outsourcing we see a lot of GAPs. Some of the GAPs are cultural but we
should not over look GAPs caused by disconnection. We have to work very
hard to overcome the GAP influence. I decided to write down some things
that I can do to overcome the real and persistent problem.
-
Start
all interchanges with an introduction as to context, purpose and expectations
- Adopt
an attitude of vigilant understanding and confirmation that we remain
synchronized (on the same page),
- Periodically
take a breath, assess where we are at, and determine how much further things
need to be taken. At the same time determining if there are any barriers,
current or impending, that require purposeful and possibly mutual attention,
and
- Never
ignore, overlook or be inattentive to the GAP!
I trust that this blog entry has not run counter to the
lesson that is being conveyed.
Feel free to contribute your thoughts or send an email to me
at jdurant@Int-IOM.org
