Stop Workplace Drama: Train Your Team to have No Complaints, No Excuses, and No Regrets

Chapter 2. Identify the Gap

	People only see what they are prepared to see.
	--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Besides a lack of clarity, the most likely reason that you're experiencing drama is that you get stuck in the gap—the place between where you were and where you want to be. If your goal stretches you even a little, it's important to keep in mind that your goal always looks easier to achieve than it is. Case in point: As a child, I was a very good swimmer. My family used to visit a lake each weekend, and every weekend I would beg my mother to let me swim to a nearby island. It looked so easy, and I was absolutely dying to try it.

My mother's answer, however, was always no. Even though I tried my best to persuade her that I could make it to the other side, she knew it wasn't nearly as easy as it looked to me. That decision in itself was an example of good leadership.

Sometimes you do what you know is best—even if those under you do not understand or agree.

As a leader, it takes wisdom and recognition to realize that no matter how accessible a goal seems it nearly always looks easier to achieve than it is. You don't always know what will be required up front, or the changes and obstacles that may occur along the way.

Whether you are initiating change or being forced to change because of the economy, outside threats, someone else's decisions, or new legislation, any significant adjustment throws you into that gap of the unknown. It's a place that's full of surprises where much is required of ...