"Closing the get it gap."

In today’s hyper-focused and hyper-competitive business world, one of the most significant growth opportunities for all professionals will be the willingness and ability to learn how to unlearn and relearn. To bolster and augment our knowledge base and skill sets, making them impactful today and tomorrow as leaders. Learning to unlearn and relearn is crucial to help remove blind spots and close the “get it gap” for senior and emerging leaders.?

Influential leaders recognize that no one has all the answers, so they prioritize continuous learning. They challenge their assumptions and seek knowledge through mentorship and reverse mentorship. Leaders can bridge the gap between knowledge and comprehension by fostering a culture of open learning and transparent information sharing. This creates opportunities for more meaningful discussions with stakeholders. As a leader, you can both learn and teach by embracing the role of a mentee.?

This demonstrates the value of personal growth and development to your team and empowers them to take charge of their own progress. This approach leads to fresh ideas and innovative solutions. “The need for executives who can function effectively in this new era of globalization and who can manage complex internal and external networks will not disappear.” (Lane, H.W, Maznevski, M.L. 2019)

Technology is only as effective as people’s ability to use it. Leaders' experience and institutional knowledge, with the ability and willingness to teach others, are more critical today than ever. Often technological solutions are created in a vacuum that doesn’t always solicit or incorporate objective real-world feedback. “The long-arc-of-impact technologies demand very difficult transformations of work, organizational structures, numbers of employees, knowledge needs, what work was done and how, what skills were key, and organizational values.” (Mukherjee, A 2020)

The other challenge is that some experienced senior leaders are as technically savvy as their younger peers and stakeholder. Gaps in data literacy can create blind spots in decision-making. But when senior leaders embrace the concept of reverse mentoring, they can close their gaps in understanding and help other stakeholders understand their roles more clearly. This can improve the process of communicating organizational objectives and expectations.?

Lane, H W., Maznevski, Martha L (2019)? International Management Behavior Cambridge University Press. Retrieved May 22nd, 2023, from Kindle Edition.

Mukherjee, A (2020) Leading in the Digital World. MIT Press. Retrieved May 22nd, 2023, from Kindle Edition.?