Leadership Blindspots

Good leaders become great by skilfully managing their own vulnerabilities.

The role of blind spots is to mediate between the poles of self-confidence and self-doubt. A leader with too many blind spots can be overconfident, even blindly arrogant, and thus is exposed to a range of risks. In contrast, a leader with too few blind spots may be too realistic and overwhelmed by the very real obstacles ahead.

The following five mechanisms offer pragmatic advice on gaining self-knowledge in overcoming the factors that produce blind spots. The best leaders develop a range of compensating mechanisms that fit their personalities and the company cultures in which they work. In many cases, these leaders don’t fundamentally change the way they think, but instead develop warning systems that surface important weaknesses and threats.

1.See it for yourself

2.Seek out that which disconfirms what you beliew

3.Develop peripheral vision and see what others miss

4.Build a network of trusted advisors in Critical Areas

5.Promote Productive Team Fights on the Vital few Priorities

Remaining aware of blind spots requires vigilance and humility as you come to appreciate, and perhaps even value, the limits of your knowledge and skill and how to lead forcefully with that awareness. That’s a lesson worth learning.

Summary from Leadership Blindspots by Robert Bruce Shaw .

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