I recently spoke to Jennifer Edwards and Katie McCleary, authors of the new book Bridge the Gap: Breakthrough Communication Tools to Transform Work Relationships From Challenging to Collaborative.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Jennifer: I grew up in a small town with family members everywhere. We camped, fished, played games and were constantly active in our church and community. I grew up pretty scrappy in a working-class family. My dad was a computer science professor and my mom a volunteer extraordinaire – our family was so connected and there was always adventure and learning in our circle of five. And – I was always the entrepreneur – in my blood somehow! I was always competing or starting a business – piano school, tennis coach, or cooking for families. I have always had a deep thirst to learn. I became completely consumed with understanding how the mind, body and spirit handle pressure and performance. Today, all my work has evolved into opening a learning and development company, How To Bridge the Gap that my work-wife Katie McCleary and I co-founded. I am someone who does fall – and hopefully falls forward. An assumptive mistake I made early in my career that really defined me was “small” but “mighty.” I was new in consulting, and I had a client I loved working with – but I was becoming way too informal way too fast. A few weeks into working with a new client, I gave them a “nickname” and started using it playfully and often. The nickname caught like wildfire and over the next month, the new name stuck. The problem was that I never asked permission from my client. I acted too cavalier and made the shy client feel little and manipulated. I assigned a label to someone without any caring thought. It was a pivotal point for me, and, after a breakdown with the client, I learned how the lack of partnering, asking, being curious and seeking permission is a critical part of building trust and respect.
Katie: I grew up as a lonely child in rural and wild places. My younger sister was blind, developmentally disabled, and living with many health issues. My parents were of the working poor— living on minimum-wage paychecks—trying to fulfill their version of the American Dream. As a shy but feisty kid, I was like a little detective; using my writing skills to observe, witness, and describe why some people behaved a certain way or had certain things, while others did not. Eventually this obsession led to a:
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