Six Leadership Blind Spots You May Not Know About [+ How to Address Them]
I once had a boss who needed two offices: one for him and another for his ego. The only people on his radar were those hierarchically more senior than him and sometimes us, his direct reports. He needed to have (and keep) a team so he could advance to those coveted positions.
His larger-than-life ego was his most notorious blind spot.
We all have blind spots, things that we do or say but cannot see how they impact ourselves and the people around us.
Since we are all leaders it is important that we are open to at least hearing about our blind spots.
First and foremost you lead your life including managing your saboteurs and inner blocks, enhancing your mental fitness, and keeping yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially healthy.
If you are part of a family (by birth and/or choice), even if you are not physically in the same place as them, you lead at least one aspect of that group such as finances, health, gatherings, trips, etc.
At work, every time you are responsible for completing a project (or part of it), you are leading.
Leaders are both born and created. We are born to lead amazing lives and to realize and fulfill our ever-growing potential. We create or enhance our leadership skills throughout our lives depending on the specific circumstances.
For example, if you become a parent, you may need to focus on developing negotiation skills – I have witnessed hostage-level negotiation skills between a parent and a three year old during lunch. Or if you are appointed to lead a complex project, you may need to focus on how to make better decisions.
Humans are social, tribal creatures, and leaders have always existed. Monkey sees monkey does. Ask any person with younger siblings. How many times did we have to stop doing something we liked because our younger sibling could not yet do it, but they imitated us anyway? It was painful!
According to research by Dr. John C. Maxwell, there are six common leader blind spots that could negatively impact our influence. To overcome them, we start with the acceptance that we all have at least one, and that we cannot remove it. We rely on trusted friends, colleagues, and family members to help us identify our blind spots so we can manage them.
“We all have a blind spot and it’s shaped exactly like us.” Junot Diaz, Dominican-American writer
1) Having a singular perspective
This is when we have found a method to advance in our career that has worked really well (up to this point), and we are unable to adjust or try something new.
It manifests in comments like “I hate reading”, “It is my way or the highway”, or more subtle ways like “let’s try X” (and there is no room for discussion).
As we know the only constant is change. According to Buddhists, one of the conditions that characterize all life is impermanence. Everything is continuously going through the cycle of change.
What worked last year for a specific situation may not work this year. Why? Because both you and the situation are different.
In my experience, the most effective way to work around this blind spot is to exchange judgment for curiosity.
The moment we start to wonder or explore, we are ready to incorporate other perspectives.
Read a book or article about how different industries are approaching a challenge you may be facing now. Have brainstorming sessions and reward the ‘craziest’ idea. When talking with someone with views opposite to yours, only listen without judgment and without trying to change their minds.
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” W.B. Yeats, Irish poet
2) Insecurity
All of us experience insecurity at least once before every meal. The key is to not let it grow uncontrollably or to permeate our life to the point of severe damage.
Severely insecure leaders hardly give credit to others, keep information from their teams, ‘shield’ their people from exposure to other leaders, are threatened by others’ growth, and tend to micro-manage.
Insecurity could have very deep roots in which case it is a matter of managing yourself and working around this person until either of you is in a different situation.
Sometimes insecurity is circumstantial. For example, you may be leading people for the first time, or you have been promoted. That insecurity will be removed as you gain the skills and knowledge for your new job.
Self-talk also helps. When in self-doubt, one of the things I tell myself is, ‘other people, who I consider as smart or smarter than me, agreed that I am the right person for this job.’
From the other side of the table, reassuring the person that you are rooting for them could be life changing. When team members’ skills, knowledge, and leadership capabilities grow everyone wins. Projects and tasks become more interesting. There are opportunities for promotion and space for mentoring and coaching, thus creating a legacy for generations to come.
“The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.” Maya Angelou, American poet, and civil rights activist
3) Devaluing people
This leader blind spot is closely linked to insecurity. These are the leaders who treat others unfairly and as if they are unimportant.
I think this was one of my unintentional blind spots. I was never dismissive toward others or thought that they were “less than me”.
But by wanting to do many things myself – because it was faster, I knew exactly what needed to be done, I liked doing it, etc. – I caused the same effect as if I were explicitly devaluing others.
As I grew in my career I was forced to realize that, even if I wanted to and I saw myself as a super woman, I could not do everything myself. Other members of the team had better, more efficient ways to accomplish results.
I remind myself that my job is to influence, inspire, motivate, and coach/mentor the team so we (collectively) can achieve extraordinary results.
“There is ‘growth’ in admiration. And ‘stagnation’ in criticism. When we ‘devalue’ others, we get down too. When we ‘lift’ others, we go up as well.” Unknown
4) An out-of-control ego
These are the leaders who think they are the best thing ever since sliced bread. They broadcast their accomplishments and name drop left and right outside of what is considered acceptable levels of bragging.
They may care about their team but only because it is useful to them.
A work around this blind spot is to remember that all of our achievements are the product of our circumstances, our effort, and the support and work of other people.
“Ego trip: a journey to nowhere.” Unknown
5) Lack of character
Leaders with this blind spot are those that we describe as ‘not having a backbone.’ They will agree with whomever is in power, may be susceptible to making unethical decisions, and are not authentic.
To strengthen or build our character I have found these three elements are key:
a) identifying our most important values;
b) practicing self-discipline; and
c) being accountable for our decisions and actions.
The workaround is to check important decisions against your values, the front page test (i.e., if your decision made it to the front page of the newspaper or went viral on social media, how would you feel?), and your gut.
“You cannot dream yourself into character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” Henry David Thoreau, American naturalist and essayist
6) Living in the weak zone instead of in the strength zone
This blind spot may be one of the most pervasive, especially for those who value personal and professional development.
These are leaders who work really hard to overcome their weaknesses and expect their teams to do the same.
Earlier in my life and career I spent an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to become a completely different person. If I could go back in time I would have used half of that energy enhancing my strengths, and the other half resting and recovering.
I started to change my perspective and became more curious about living in the strength zone when I read the book Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton.
At that moment, I understood that I wanted to use my energy and brain to develop my strengths and new skills, keeping weaknesses on my radar so they would not damage my path or others.
Since then, I have been more effective, authentic, and welcoming of others’ contributions and strengths.
“We live with them [our strengths] every day, and they come so easily to us that they cease to be precious.” From the book Now Discover Your Strengths
One more thing before you go
We all have blind spots. They are inevitable. We may never see them and we may never be able to remove them.
However, if we keep ourselves curious by welcoming other ideas, allowing others to give us useful feedback, and experimenting with different tools, we can identify and work around our blind spots and better manage them. At a minimum they would not get in the way of our progress and that of the tribe we lead.
I invite you to ponder on these six blind spots. Ask people you trust in and out of work which ones they see in you. Take it as an adventure… after all you are exploring and discovering yourself.
Which of these six blind spots do you think you may have? Please, let us know in the comments.
Source: Research by Dr. John C. Maxwell
As a leadership coach, I enable talent to achieve bold goals with high standards. My mission is to empower underrepresented women in the financial industry transition from mid to senior level leadership positions using mental fitness to achieve peak performance, peace of mind, and healthier relationships.