There is a gap showing up in workplaces right now, and honestly, I don’t think it’s always the gap people think it is. We hear the same frustrations repeated across teams and industries; employees struggle to communicate clearly, hesitate to take initiative, avoid phone calls, or seem unprepared for everyday tasks. It’s easy to label these moments as a lack of effort or professionalism.
But what if the issue is not attitude at all? What if the real problem is that many of the skills we expect employees to have were never clearly taught in the first place? Before we default to judgment, we need to pause long enough to ask a better question: are we expecting confidence in skills that were never intentionally developed? Because that space between what employees are expected to do and what they have actually been given the opportunity to learn is where the real gap exists—and it is one worth paying attention to.
Now this doesn’t mean every behavior gets excused. It means we pause long enough to ask what is really underneath it.
Is this a performance issue?
Is this a confidence issue?
Is this a clarity issue?
Is this a training issue?
Is this an exposure issue?
Is this a coaching issue?
Because once we understand the real gap, we can stop reacting to the behavior and start supporting the person.
This is what I call the missing middle.
It is the space between education and employment. The space between knowing how to complete assignments and knowing how to function confidently in a workplace. The space between being capable and being prepared. And that space matters.
This two-part series focuses on how organizations can identify those gaps, reduce the shame around not knowing something, and help employees buy into learning the skills that will actually make their work life easier. I’ve created a companion document, The Foundational Workplace Skills Training Guide (will be released with part II), which goes one step further and outlines the practical skills employees should know, along with ideas for how to teach them.
The articles are the conversation. The guide is the tool.
Together, they help organizations move from complaining about the same skill gaps over and over again to understanding how to do something useful about them.
“Common Sense” Is Not a Training Strategy
We need to be honest about something. “Common sense” is not a training strategy.
I know it is tempting to say, “They should just know this.” But should they?
Should someone automatically know how to write a professional email if no one has ever shown them what one looks like? Should they know how to answer a business phone if most of their communication has happened through text, chat, or apps? Should they know how to use Excel if they were never asked to do more than open a spreadsheet and hope for the best?
We keep expecting people to show up with skills they may never have been taught, and then act surprised when those skills are missing.
That is not fair to the employee. And it’s also not useful for the organization.
I want to be very clear about one thing; the goal is not to lower expectations. We can still expect professionalism. We can still expect clear communication. We can still expect follow-through, critical thinking, and respectful client interaction.
But if those things matter, then we have to teach them, model them, practice them, and reinforce them.
That is not coddling. That is workforce development.
Soft Skills Are Not Soft
The phrase “soft skills” has always bothered me a little. It makes these skills sound optional. Like they are nice little extras we can sprinkle on top after the “real work” is done.
But communication is real work. Critical thinking is real work. Empathy is real work. Professionalism is real work.
Knowing how to ask a clarifying question before making a mistake is real work.
Knowing how to receive feedback without completely shutting down is real work.
Knowing how to speak to another human being with respect, especially when things are tense, is very real work.
These skills are not extra. They are the foundation that allows everything else to happen.
Someone can know the technical parts of a job and still struggle if they cannot communicate clearly, manage priorities, use basic office tools, document information, or respond professionally. On the other hand, someone with strong foundational skills can often learn the technical parts faster because they know how to ask questions, follow instructions, seek feedback, and keep improving.
That is the part we need to pay attention to.
We do not just need employees who know things. We need employees who know how to learn, communicate, think, adapt, and grow.
Stop Calling Everything a Work Ethic Problem
Work ethic matters. Of course it does. But not every mistake is a work ethic issue.
Sometimes an employee does not respond to an email because they do not understand workplace response expectations.
Sometimes they avoid making a phone call because they have never been taught what to say.
Sometimes they send a message that sounds short or rude because no one has explained how tone lands differently in writing vs speaking out loud.
Sometimes they struggle with Excel because they were expected to “just know it.”
Sometimes they do not take initiative because they are afraid of making the wrong move.
Sometimes they do not ask questions because they are embarrassed that they do not already know the answer.
And sometimes they are overwhelmed because the workplace is full of unwritten rules that everyone acts like they were born knowing.
They were not.
No one comes into the world knowing how to create a spreadsheet, write a meeting recap, answer a multi-line phone system, draft a polished email, or address a business envelope.
These things are taught. Or they are not taught, and then managers complain about it later.
That is the cycle we need to break.
Now, does that mean every behavior gets excused? No. But it does mean we need to diagnose before we decide. Is this a performance issue? Is this a confidence issue? Is this a clarity issue? Is this a training issue?
The answer matters because the solution changes depending on what is actually going on.
The Skills We Keep Expecting But Forgot to Teach
If we want to build a stronger workforce, we need to stop skipping the foundational skills. Not everyone needs to become an Excel expert and write like a novelist. But every employee should have enough practical workplace skill to function with confidence.
These are some of the skill areas organizations should be looking at when assessing workforce readiness:
- Typing and keyboard confidence
- Microsoft Word basics
- Microsoft Excel basics
- Email etiquette
- Phone etiquette
- Voicemail etiquette
- Grammar and proofreading
- How to address an envelope
- Research and source evaluation
- Critical thinking and analysis
- Empathy and professional communication
- Time management and prioritization
- Digital file organization
- Receiving feedback
- Asking clarifying questions
- Career curiosity and willingness to keep learning
Some of these may sound simple, but simple does not mean unimportant.
A person who cannot type confidently may avoid documentation or take twice as long to complete digital tasks. A person who does not understand email etiquette may unintentionally create confusion, tension, or delays. A person who cannot use Excel may struggle to organize information, track progress, or understand data.
These are not small things. They are confidence builders. They are workplace stability builders.
The companion Foundational Workplace Skills Training Guide takes these areas further by outlining what employees should know in each category and how organizations can teach those skills through examples, practice, feedback, and reinforcement. This guide along with Part II of The Missing Middle will be released next month.