I knew better. I still did it.

Years ago, I hired someone who quickly struggled in the role.

His team was feeling the impact, and I knew what I needed to do: address it directly, set clear expectations, and quickly determine whether he could succeed.

Instead, I kept trying to make it work.

I coached him. Encouraged him. Told him to keep trying. Gave him more time.

I wanted him to succeed.

In full disclosure, I also wanted my decision to hire him to succeed.

Eventually, I had to terminate him. The outcome I tried to avoid happened anyway, but my delay also affected his team and their results.

I knew better. I still did it.

That wasn’t a knowledge gap. It was what I call a Default Gap.

The Default Gap is the distance between where you are and where you could be. It’s created by repeatedly defaulting to old ways of thinking and acting.

My gap wasn’t about what I needed to learn. It came from who I kept defaulting to being.

I loved cheering people on, but I hated confrontation—especially when the problem started with one of my own decisions.

I kept showing up as the encourager when I needed to be the leader willing to face the truth.

That is the challenge with our defaults.

They are not always bad habits. Sometimes they are strengths we keep relying on when they aren't serving us or the business.

Patience can become avoidance.
Drive can keep us from admitting when we’re wrong.
Optimism can keep us from acting on what we already know.

Closing the Default Gap starts by recognizing where you are, where you could be, and what you keep defaulting to in between.

For me, closing that gap helped me become a better and more effective leader.

Let me ask, what Default Gap of yours, if closed, would make the biggest difference in your work or life?