“Don’t Mind The Gap” - the final instalment of the ‘Multi-Storey Thinking’ Series

Thoughts and Images - Natalie Shering

At the beginning of my Creative Leadership journey this year, I set out to encapsulate and communicate my thoughts around the ‘NRR’ approach to Leadership; the practice of deliberately Noticing, Responding and, on an ongoing basis, Repeating the process. In this weekly Multi-Storey Thinking series throughout January, I have taken inspiration from the visual metaphors provided by one afternoon’s photoshoot in a local high-rise car park.  Using a different photo for each instalment, I have reflected upon the importance of Setting Direction for the year ahead, of noticing the signs and taking time to pause at Decision Junctions, and all the while, Making Space for our own growth and for the development of others.

The final image in this series, now entitled ‘Don’t Mind The Gap’ (although for reasons that will become obvious, it’s working title was ‘Getting Into The Groove’) was shot from above, leaning over the edge of one of the flattened hexagonal cut-outs that perforate the side of the 1960s Brutalist car park building, and looking down along the undulating grooves moulded into its frontage. I often find myself drawn towards repeating images like these - to patterns, to textures, to the interplay of shadow and light.  I see these patterns in organic states, such as in the tracery formation of icicles across a frozen-over puddle, or in the concentric rings on a newly sawn tree stump. And, as was the case in this chilly concrete car park, I find them in our manufactured environments – in our buildings, our public spaces, in our highways and byways. 

At first glance, this image may not seem to be a particularly arresting finale; the muted palette of soft greys and golds coupled with the lulling uniformity of the repeated lines as they fall away towards the earth creates a gentle, calming, but perhaps, unspectacular photograph. Yet for me, this scene teems with metaphors.  In a continuation of the themes discussed in Making Space, it was the unfilled gaps here that particularly sparked my imagination. 

Gaping window holes, allowing fluorescent light to shine through and invigorating air to sweep in.  Gaps created by the troughs between the peaks of the building’s corrugated concrete covering, and the narrow channel of thin air forming the expansion gap that separates each of them.  The gaps are there to allow the building to have access to light and air circulation, to ensure that the massive multi-storey structure is properly protected against the elements, and that it has the capacity to expand and flex with the stresses and strains caused by the daily invasion of hundreds of cars. Some large gaps, some very small. Without all these gaps the building would not work.

Just as it is vital for the car park to have these spaces built-in – for ventilation, for light and for resilience – so it is for us as Leaders. By allowing (and even encouraging) the formation of gaps around us, we create the opportunity to look up and outwards, to see the light, and for the fresh breeze of new ideas and new ways of thinking to rejuvenate us with previously unknown possibilities. And by recognising when we have gaps (in our experience, our knowledge, or perhaps, in our capacity to take on something new) and seeing them as opportunities to allow others to step in, to add value and to develop themselves, we will all benefit.

This authenticity - the ability to be robustly vulnerable coupled with a well-developed emotional intelligence and good insight into one’s own capabilities - are core qualities of a successful Leader.  Rather than ‘minding’ the gap, I encourage you to embrace it!

And so I have come to the end of my Multi-Storey Thinking, but my practice of Noticing, Responding and Repeating (NRR) carries on. When we notice what is going on around us, we have the opportunity to reflect.  Once we have reflected, we can then respond in deliberate fashion, ultimately leading to us being more considered and making more insightful choices on our journey towards being Creative Leaders.

February marks the beginning of a new series: “All At Sea”.