Leadership Blindspots summary

The first step in correcting your blind spots is figuring out what and where they are. Luckily, there is one thing in particular that throws them into sharp relief: mistakes.

Mistakes show us the areas in which we lack knowledge, competence and understanding, and thus represent areas which might be our blind spots.

Most of us don’t like feedback, especially if it’s critical. It’s hard not to take it personally when someone trashes our ideas or strategies. Yet much as we loathe it, there is nothing more important to working well and avoiding blind spots than getting regular feedback from others.

The people close to you often see the weakness and threats to your career or business that you yourself, busy living your career and running your business, can’t see.

Not all blind spots are equal: some might destroy you while others will merely set you back.

Blind spots aren’t equally important in determining leaders’ success. They exist in various areas of your responsibility, and depending on your role, some of these areas will be more important than others.

The popular perception of the political class is one of a clueless elite, oblivious to the concerns of the rest of us.

This is true, but not only for politicians. Any leader, in fact, will lose touch with their team as they begin their climb up the slippery pole.

One of our biggest weaknesses is our tendency to see only the things which back up our own point of view, and to ignore everything that contradicts it. This willful blindness causes serious problems for leaders.

It is absolutely critical that you consider all relevant data, and not just the information that backs up your viewpoint. You want to strive for objectivity, not bias. This means going beyond your comfort zone in terms of where and how you collect data.

A strong team can produce better work in greater amounts than one person alone. It’s therefore in every leader’s interest to select his team members carefully, and create the kinds of working conditions that maximize performance.

Crucially, having the right team can help leaders to overcome their blind spots in the long term.