Three Common Blind Spots Undermining Leadership Success

Self-awareness is?the ability to be aware of one's inner life–one's emotions, thoughts, behaviors, values, preferences, goals, strengths, challenges, attitudes, and mindsets—which impact behavior and choices across contexts.

Self-awareness has two essential perspectives: an "inside-out" and an "outside-in" perspective. While inside-out self-awareness involves understanding oneself from within, outside-in self-awareness involves understanding how we impact others and the environment. Integrating both perspectives allow us to develop a more comprehensive understanding of ourselves and how interact with the world around us, leading to more effective personal and professional growth.

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Tasha Eurich is a renowned organizational psychologist and an expert in self-awareness. She wrote the book Insight: The Surprising Truth about How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More than We Think. She argues that we are less self-aware than we think. If we are not self-aware, we are blind in a symbolic way because we cannot see ourselves. We call these gaps in self-awareness blind spots.?

"Blind spots are the invisible roadblocks to insight." Tasha Eurich

Blind spots are areas of unawareness or incomplete understanding, impacting our actions, relationships, and effectiveness. They manifest as gaps in knowledge, biases, unconscious behaviors, or overlooked aspects of situations, hindering informed decisions and understanding others' perspectives. Recognizing and addressing these blind spots is crucial for personal and professional growth, fostering self-awareness, empathy, and adaptability. In organizational leadership, blindness refers to deficits in self-awareness that impede effective leadership.

There are three primary types of blindness related to self-awareness:

Knowledge Blindness: Refers to a leader's lack of awareness or understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, skills, and limitations. Leaders who are knowledge-blind, may not have a clear understanding of their areas of expertise or where they need improvement. They may need more insight into how their actions and decisions impact others and the organization. This blindness can lead to ineffective leadership, as it hampers the ability to make informed decisions and leverage strengths effectively.

Christian has been with his company for more than two decades. Due to his tenure and experience, he believed he deeply understood all aspects of the department's operations and strategy. When he returned from medical leave, he found out that his interim manager made strides in solving outstanding issues, and streamlined workflow increasing productivity. Christian's knowledge-blindness prevented him from exploring emerging technologies and industry best practices that could have led him to innovate and get better results.

Emotion Blindness: Involves a leader's inability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions. Leaders who are emotionally-blind may struggle to regulate their feelings, leading to impulsive decision-making, difficulty handling stress, and challenges in building positive relationships with others. Emotionally blind leaders may overlook the impact of their emotions on their behavior and decision-making processes, which can result in decreased morale and productivity within the organization.

Luisa didn't fit the mold in terms of her emotional expression. Because she believed that emotions have no place in the workplace, she often dismissed or ignored the emotional needs of her employees. When they expressed concerns over the impact of an increased workload on their well-being, she stated that everyone needed to work harder to meet company goals. Because of her emotional blindness, she didn't get that by prioritizing logic and efficiency over empathy and understanding, Luisa was increasing her team's stress levels and, ultimately, lowering their productivity.

Behavior Blindness: Behavior blindness refers to a leader's lack of awareness of how others perceive their actions and behaviors, including verbal and non-verbal communication cues, such as body language, tone of voice, and interpersonal interactions. Leaders who are behavior-blind may unintentionally exhibit behaviors others perceive as arrogant, dismissive, or unapproachable, leading to misunderstandings, conflicts, and a breakdown in trust between the leader and their team. Behavior blindness can hinder effective leadership by creating barriers to collaboration and communication within the organization.

Mark valued transparency and speaking up the truth. He believed engaging in discussions over essential issues was a valuable way to mitigate risks in decision-making. While his intentions were in the right place, overplaying this 'in-your-face style' undermined collaboration, created tension and discomfort, and eroded his team's morale. When Mark received feedback in a 360 from his team about how uncomfortable this behavior made them feel, he was in shock. He had uncovered a behavior blind spot.?

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Tasha Ulrich recommends a four-step approach to overcoming blind spots:

1.? ??Identify assumptions?or beliefs that shape your perceptions and actions by engaging in introspection and self-reflection to uncover any underlying biases or preconceived notions influencing your behavior.

2.? ??Confront your assumptions?to examine them and assess their validity critically. Be willing to challenge yourself to consider alternative perspectives and question whether your assumptions are based on accurate information or clouded by bias or limited understanding.

3.? ??Keep learning, especially in areas where you see yourself as an expert.?Continuous learning is essential for personal and professional growth, and there is always room for further development and refinement of skills. Actively seek opportunities to expand your knowledge and expertise through reading, training, networking, and engaging with diverse perspectives.

4.? ??Seek feedback from others: Feedback is invaluable in uncovering blind spots and gaining insight into how others perceive your actions and behaviors. Be open to receiving constructive feedback from peers, mentors, colleagues, and direct reports. Listen actively without becoming defensive, and more importantly, be willing to act on the feedback.

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Not addressing blind spots can create significant risks, from performance issues and interpersonal conflicts to ethical lapses and career derailment. Addressing these three forms of blindness requires you an inside-out approach by engaging in self-reflection, and an outside-in approach by asking feedback from others.

You don't have to face the challenges alone. An experienced executive coach can be a trusted partner and help you overcome your blind spots. They provide targeted support and guidance tailored to your individual needs. With their help, you can gain clarity, insight, and perspective to improve your effectiveness in your role.

By understanding your knowledge, emotions, and behaviors, you can enhance your effectiveness, build stronger relationships, navigate challenges, drive organizational success, and inspire your team to achieve their full potential.

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