One of the key transformational coaching tools is the concept I've termed, "Mind the Gap." This idea (which I didn't create) suggests that in order to effectively do something, we need knowledge, skills, capacity, emotional intelligence, and will. (You can read more about this idea and how we can use it in coaching...) Many coaches feel that the hardest gap to address is the will gap and so I want to offer you some strategies to do so. Before we talk strategy, let's make sure we're on the same page in defining a will gap.
What Are Will Gaps?
Within this concept, will is defined as motivation, commitment, passion, and engagement. True will gaps are rarer than you think. Most of the time, when I've perceived others as having big will gaps (meaning I thought they were resistant) what I discovered as a got to know them was that they had big skill and knowledge gaps. When we can't do something, we often mask that with appearing to be disengaged or resistant. This is why coaches need to be cautious about concluding that someone has a will gap.
Will gaps come in different sizes. Sometimes a skill gap leads to a will gap and they become so entwined with each other that we can't tease them apart--and a little will gap emerges. And sometimes if we close a little will gap, we can get at the skill or knowledge gaps in a more efficient and strategic way.
I've found that a coach's fear of someone else's will gap can make the will gap seem bigger than it is. We get anxious when we face push back, questions, or even resistance and that can lead us to perceive a larger gap than may really be there. And sometimes, we turn a question (that feels like push back) into a will gap.
Let's get to what you can do when you perceive a will gap.
