Twenty years ago, I was introduced to this concept. Apparently, it can be attributed to a successful leadership consultant, Ed Eppley, who finally wrote down his thoughts in his 2018 book, Let’s Be Clear.

Since then, I have shared “The Gap Trap” with countless leaders. Every time I describe it, there is a pained look of recognition on the faces of those who are feeling burned out.

“That’s what’s happening to me!”

The concept is simple. When your team does not have the skill or capability necessary to meet performance expectations, you often fill the gap. Every year you are successful, the team’s expectations increase, and the gap you need to fill becomes larger. If we neglect the development of the team long enough, the gap becomes too large and the leader either burns out, or leaves to find another role where the starting expectations are lower.

And the vicious cycle continues.

If this sounds way too familiar, it’s time to stop the cycle and focus on team development. We suggest scheduling a development meeting with each team member this month and covering three things:

1. Skill-building: Ask them what skills they need to acquire in order to feel more competent and productive in their role. And then find the training or mentorship needed for them to gain these new skills.

2. Provide Experiences: Sometimes day-to-day work is the best training of all. Identify some tasks or roles where you can tolerate a mistake or two. Then, delegate those and provide coaching. It can be helpful to let others know the team member is taking on this new role so other can provide coaching (and grace) where necessary until the team member is up-to-speed.

3. Increase Visibility – this is the most forgotten development tool. If I want the organization to trust and value my team members, they need to be seen succeeding in newer roles of increased scope or responsibility. To do this, I need to invite them to key meetings. In addition, I may wish to give them a lead role ina presentation or a business review. The more I do this, the more others will bring challenges to my team members instead of me, freeing me up to do more strategic work.

If “The Gap Trap” sounds a bit too familiar to you, try these development meeting strategies with your team members, and let us know what accelerates their growth the fastest.