Using Strengths to Fill Gaps

We all have gaps. They key to growth is what we do when they’re exposed.

In my early 30s I trained a younger colleague in how to connect with new clients. I took him on some appointments to model my process. On our first appointment together, we walked into a manager’s office. I introduced ourselves and made some small talk, asking a few questions to find interests where we had some common ground, and then went right into my pitch. I felt it went quite well.

My trainee and I debriefed our time at a nearby coffee shop. After sharing the whys and “wisdom” to my method I asked how I could have been better. “Well, it felt a little awkward and rushed. I don’t know if you were nervous, but you hardly ever made direct eye contact with him.” That training day the trainer got properly schooled to some blind spots and I made sure in the following appointments that I made eye contact and paced my conversation to be more of a dialogue than a monologue.

Over the next few blogs, we will be looking at five core development gaps that are most needed to Inpower younger employees into leadership: interpersonal communication, emotional intelligence, collaboration, feedback reception, and relationship building. Understand that these skills are not independent. They form a reinforcing cluster that builds upon each other. Weakness in one area tends to worsen the others.

Interpersonal Communication

When it comes to information exchange, 20- and 30-somethings can bring the info and data like no other generation, virtually speaking. However, interpersonal communication isn't just information transfer, it's the foundation of how we form and maintain meaningful human connections, something I failed to do in my “training day.” When it comes to leadership development in younger employees, this is the most widely documented and urgent gap.

• 70% of business leaders report poor communication skills as the leading soft-skills concern with Gen Z employees (British Council, 2024).
• 65% of Gen Z workers themselves acknowledge they struggle to make conversation with colleagues, according to a U.S. Harris Poll.
• Only 7% of Gen Z applicants consider interpersonal collaboration as a skill, compared to 27% of postings that list it as a requirement.

Lack of interpersonal communication shows up in many ways: difficulty initiating conversation, poor eye contact, challenges adapting communication style across contexts and seniority levels, over-reliance on digital channels for interactions that call for face-to-face engagement, and a tendency to communicate with the casual unpretentiousness common to social media in professional settings where formality matters.

This is where discovering and developing core strengths people must add to communication skills can be a game changer. Through the CliftonStrengths framework, talent themes like Relator, Empathy, Communication, Includer, Individualization, Harmony, and several other talents map directly onto the interpersonal competencies Gen Z most needs to develop. This gives companies a dashboard to see where natural and sometimes latent talents in their workforce can be cultivated. With our Inpowered Process we give your emerging leaders the means to be proactive and intentional to add skills, knowledge, and use to turn those talents into a strength that fills the interpersonal communication gap.

Most importantly, working from strengths rather than deficits aligns with what the research says Gen Z responds to: development that affirms who they are, connects to their values, and offers them a clear picture of how their natural gifts can serve others. This is essential when we step into the next gap challenge in our next blog- emotional intelligence.