What are common leadership blind spots and how can you help clients overcome them?

In my experience working with senior leaders as well as aspiring leaders, it always starts with understanding your values and motivational strengths. That self-awareness makes all the difference and is the first step in being an effective leader. How does that relate to blind spots? It creates leaders who are more likely to know their blind spots and solicit input from others in the organization.

I do a lot of 360 assessments with my coaching clients, often using the Leadership Circle Profile. It's pricey and worth it! The blind spot that shows up most is high levels of Controlling. "My way or the highway" leadership. The leader is often autocratic, ambitious and driven to get results. They often feel a strong need to take charge, seek for perfection and to be seen as a Winner. This can work in the short term but tends to alienate people and is not a good strategy for developing others. They get results by working hard and sucking up responsibility.

Leaders sometimes don't understand the impact that their self-talk has on their behavior. We believe what we tell ourselves the most. When we believe our self-talk as truth and don't challenge it, we can miss opportunities to try on different, more growth-oriented ways of thinking which ultimately lead to behaviors often more aligned with our goals.

I am surprised how often I run into the destructive habit of micromanagement undetected and therefore unmanaged in the lives of leaders even at the most senior levels. This trait shows itself in different ways with different levels of intensity. Ultimately, it is crippling for both a leader and his/her team.

Often in my practice, when clients have blind spots it's related to a behavior that they see as central to their identity. They come up with all kinds of justifications as to why the behavior is necessary or not problematic. Changing behavior is challenging; abandoning who you see yourself to be is infinitely harder. I encourage clients to distinguish between behavior and identity. For example, When a client's blind spot is that they continually allow themself to be taken advantage of, they may say "I'm a people pleaser." I invite them to reframe that as "I've developed a habit of putting other people's needs ahead of my own." That reframing can help the client see that there are alternatives they can explore and not lose who they are.

Here is where good coaching can be very helpful. I demonstrate to my clients how by not taking action to make the change (can be a habit), it is going to be more painful than the pain he/she feels in taking action to bring about the change. So the client is motivated to go with the lesser pain. Additionally I explain that remaining in the comfort zone( bad habit for example of procrastination) gives only temporary pleasure and pain is just round the corner if no action is taken.

I think pride drives most of this. Thinking or believing that you are right or that others are wrong usually comes from a place of insecurity or fear. Humble leaders know that change is essential and needed for individuals and organizations to thrive and grow. Developing a mindset and comfort with change can be a game-changer in life and leadership. If you are resistant to change, really dig deep and ask yourself why. You may be surprised at the real answer.

To transform our relationship with fear, we get to look at the wisdom it's trying to deliver. Emotions, especially fear, are just data - data trying to tell us something about what's important to us. It's trying to get our attention. It's trying to protect us from something. This can look like quite literally talking to yourself. That part of you that is afraid, tell it you get it, that you appreciate how it's trying to protect you (from uncertainty, from failing, or any number of other things!). It's with that pause that we're able to then open up choice in how we move forward from a place of response, instead of feeling controlled by our reaction to the fear. If we resist the fear, it's likely going to grip on even tighter.

I was the change management leader on a business process re-engineering project that affected the work of about 15,000 employees, mainly in the USA and Canada. Customers were in about 30 countries. The changes affected manufacturing, engineering, sales, marketing, planning and field support. Communication to everyone was key about what the changes were and how it would affect people and the company. One of the most successful things we did was for each group affected by the change to identify the WIFMs (What's In It for Me) in collaboration with the leaders of each "silo". Once we had the leaders on board and promoting the change the project went well. The end result was a saving of about $150 Million / year.

There are three levels of listening: - Subjective Listening (Listening to respond with how the statement applies to ourselves) - Objective Listening ( Listening to respond to what the person is saying and purely responding to the actual words - Intuitive listening ( Listening to what is being said and not being said.) In my work as Executive Coach I work with my clients specifically on the intuitive listening. Listening to what is being said and not being said. As leaders we have to have the ability to listen beyond words in order to connect and build trust with those that we work with. It allows to identify challenges beyond those that are being expressed - due to fear or due to a lack of awareness of the other person.

Often, poor listening skills pair with a lack of self-awareness. The outcome is that we don't listen well to our own inner voice. We stay stuck right where we are!

This is a leadership killer. This can also be driven by a spirit of pride or simply a bad habit or both. I worked with a colleague once who was brilliant in her field and did great work, but was a horrible listener. Every conversation seemed like a battle and I felt like she was never listening, only preparing her response or rebuttal. I determined over time, that what drove her behavior was insecurity and fear of being seen as not as smart as her other scientist colleagues. Once we unwrapped what drove her actions and she "owned" her feelings about things, things changed rapidly for her and she became an active, empathetic listener who was very intentional in her conversations. In short, she got over her insecurities and was her true self.

Leaders should be trained on how to listen effectively. We need to understand that there are many levels of listening and not everyone is trained on how to listen at the highest level. Some leaders pretend listen, some are selective listeners, only hearing what they want. Most leaders claim to be active listeners when in fact they are more passive. I help leaders listen empathetically, to listen critically. For me, step 1 is to train leaders on effective listening and to create scenarios where they practice and identify their and other listening behaviors. I have them journal their listening habits and to seek feedback from those they interact with. You can't improve unless you identify areas of improvement through feedback and assessment.

I like the term active listening. It allows me to help the coachee realize that listening is an activity. During our coaching sessions, if appropriate, I will ask them to share with me what I've just said and I found that a useful way of them realizing that active listening is not all that easy and needs to be intentional.

Often leaders insist their team completes the work the way it has been done previously or get stuck on “best practices” rather than being open to the team’s suggestions for how to move forward. This can lead to strained collaborators and suboptimal outcomes. A lighter approach is usually better, but takes practice. Consciously loosening the grip on people and processes can lead to surprising results. Leaders still have to maintain enough awareness and responsiveness to make sure deliverables are on track, but it can be done in a way that is more attuned to the process itself. This will lead to discovery of the capacities within their team and themselves as the leader.

Beyond helping with some of the tactical pieces to delegation provided in this part of the article in my experience it goes deeper than that: Understanding that there is an underlying fear of relinquishing control and therefore failure. "If I don't do this, it won't be done to my level of satisfaction and then it will reflect poorly on me." Addressing what the true underlying fears are for leaders will help shift perspectives and therefore remove roadblocks to effective delegation.

It's easy to under-communicate and difficult to overcommunicate, but leaders have more visibility across the organization so it's helpful to explain the impact of the work during delegation. Employees need to feel like they are part of something bigger. Collective impact is also going to add clarity to the items delegated. Leaders can also look for cross-functional opportunities so that team members can get more involved in the business as a whole.

One of the common Leadership Blindspots is 'Micromanaging'. This is blindspot is characterised by excessive control, close supervision, and a high level of involvement in the day-to-day tasks and decisions of employees or subordinates. Micromanagement can have negative consequences in the workplace, including reduced employee morale and job satisfaction, increased stress, burnout and hindered productivity. It can also stifle creativity and innovation, as employees may be less willing to take risks or suggest new ideas when they feel they are constantly under surveillance and subject to minute scrutiny. The antidote to this style of leadership is to foster an environment where employees are empowered to embrace the ‘Leadership of Self.

To effectively delegate and also foster accountability, follow these steps: Share knowledge and empower teams and provide necessary knowledge and validate their expertise. Give them the freedom and responsibility to make decisions, showing trust and boosting their confidence. Recognize that more freedom requires accepting more personal responsibility. Delegate authority and show your belief in themselves and specifically name what you believe in. Develop competence and confidence. Invest in building skills and confidence. Offer trainings to ensure they feel confident in using them. Regularly assess performance and challenges. Let team members solve problems independently while offering support when necessary.

Leaders need feedback the most but receive it with the least frequency. To enable and enact change, make sure you are giving feedback to your supervisors.

Leaders blossom through mentorship and coaching, but ineffective feedback is a common hurdle. Grateful for leaders guiding growth, but 10 out of 10 clients of mine need to learn how to give and receive feedback. This means that in their careers, they were not exposed to a leader who could show them how it's done. Mastering this skill unlocks powerful conversations and accountability —overcoming this vital blind spot.

Dr. Brian Harman said it best "Leaders need feedback the most but receive it with the least frequency." This has been my experience when I am coaching leaders. I have seen leaders fail upwards too many times due to other leaders afraid to provide constructive feedback. After all, most leaders are not trained on how to give effective feedback. Most leaders have been trained on the "Sandwich" method and that is their primary feedback strategy. As a leader, you must seek feedback all the time from all directions. Here is a practice: conduct a reverse performance review. Have our team provide you with a quarterly review of your leadership capabilities. It's eye opening. Also conduct feedback assessments from leaders and peers.

If there is inability to receive feedback - find the reason for it. Raise your level of consciousness and create a culture where authenticity, inclusion and diversity are more than welcome, appreciated and acclaimed. Leaders need to check the pulse of the organization constantly and regularly, otherwise one day they may found out that the horse is dead and at this stage nothing really can be done. Don't go there. Be open and willing to listen, appreciate people's feedback and even ask for it, and adjust your course of action accordingly. People speak out because they care. If a leader is unable or unwilling to listen and constantly learn and grow the morale in the company will decrease and the competent and valuable people will leave.

When leadership clients are resistant to receiving feedback, my first question is "why - what's underneath this?". A leader will never develop if they do not heighten their awareness - receiving feedback is one way to become more aware. I like to ask clients "what would open up for you if you received feedback?" and "what would close down for you if you did not receive feedback?" as a way of exploring where the roadblock is centred, and why.

One of the biggest leadership blindspots I see is when leaders avoid receiving feedback. Leaders may avoid receiving feedback due to fear of criticism or ego protection. To overcome this, leaders can foster a culture of openness and trust within their teams by actively seeking feedback with dynamic questions. A culture of trust must be built first for this to be effective. To create trust, leaders need to demonstrate humility by acknowledging their own areas for improvement, and create structured feedback processes that encourage honest and constructive communication. Additionally, leaders can work on developing resilience to feedback and reframing it as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat to their ego.

Some cars have blind spot mirrors to help us see areas that we normally can't see. These blind spots are those areas around the vehicle that may pose a risk when we try to change lanes or merge into traffic which could lead to accidents, etc. Things like assessments and feedback from leaders and peers are your mirrors. They give you the opportunity to see areas that you can't. Consider these methods as blind spot detectors, the same that cars have that give off a beep or flash if a car is next to you. These are indicators to alert you of areas in your leadership behaviors that you need to address before there is a major accident.

Lack of doubt: Leaders may prefer to search for support of their hypotheses and ideas in their surroundings. Opponent’s views are avoided, uncomfortable questions spared out. In executive coaching sessions leaders can experience the power of doubt by “swapping roles” with their greatest critic. Believe that their answers and solutions are always helpful: Leaders often feel in charge to immediately answer their employees questions and solve their problems when addressed by them. With this behavior they won’t help others grow. Instead of automatically giving answers, they should consider asking resource oriented and systemic questions first: what have you tried so far to solve this problem? How would your colleagues solve this problem?

What are common leadership blind spots and how can you help clients overcome them? Leadership blind spots are created because leaders (and people in general) tend to measure themselves against their intentions (which are in most cases perceived to be worthy and good) and measure others by their actions, and let's face it, none of us are perfect. Leadership blind spots come to live because leaders see their pure intentions and not their actions. This is way it's so critical to help leaders seek feedback as to how their stakeholders experience them.

Most professionals assume that work happens because of their cognitive thinking (IQ) and rational decision-making. Thanks to Daniel Goleman’s work on emotional intelligence, in the past two decades EQ is less and less of a blindspot for leaders. But there’s another intelligence - somatic intelligence - that can be leveraged in day-to-day interactions, decision making, and high-stakes conversations to shift how you think (domain of IQ) and how you feel (domain of EQ). Because so few realize that their body is responsible for knee-jerk reactions to threats and fear - somatic intelligence is the biggest blindspot leaders have.