So how clearly are you seeing things as a leader?
Really?
Truthfully, there are important things in leadership that all of us miss. One of the toughest challenges for those of us who lead is that every leader develops blind spots.
A blind spot is simply defined as an area where your view is obstructed.
You just don’t see things that are there. All of us miss things that are clear to any other person, but not to us.
It’s why you turn around first to check beside you when making a lane change.
It’s why you crane your neck at a stadium so you can see the field unobstructed.
It’s why you trimmed that tree near your front window so you can see the view.
You want to see clearly.
It’s not that most leaders want to create problems, it’s that they don’t see the problems they’re creating. We’re blind to them.
I know I am.
Here are some blind spots I’ve identified in myself over the years:
My personal style (which tends to land more on the truth side than the grace side) can unintentionally hurt or alienate people.
Casual comments I make can be mistaken as ‘directives’ by people around me, leading them to act on things I was simply asking questions about. (I’m the senior leader in our church and my words weigh more than I’d like them to sometimes.)
While being selective is important, I can sometimes be too picky about who I choose to move into senior leadership — sometimes backlogging the development of other leaders.
My attention to detail on matters I’m passionate about can be so minute that it becomes discouraging to some.
