Page 48 - Fearless Leadership

The Blind Spots That Derail Leaders 35

The real culprits are not the blind spots themselves; the offenders are
unidentified and mismanaged blind spots. The automatic nature of blind
spots—their ability to appear any time and anywhere—produces cycles of
unproductive behaviors between individuals and groups that undermine
change initiatives and business results. These cycles of unproductive
behaviors also derail careers, sabotage success, and lead to ineffective deci-
sion making and execution. Although people can see the impact of unpro-
ductive behavior, they look the other way. It is an uncomfortable situation
to deal with because people do not have a constructive method to resolve
difficult situations or issues.
Without a clear and explicit standard of behavior, and a shared method-
ology to apply it in daily business transactions, unproductive behavioral
norms form by default and degrade the culture and workplace environ-
ment. If leaders understood the degree to which blind spots undercut the
results of their organizations, they would be screaming for solutions.
There is good news in all of this. You can defeat the cycle of automatic
and unproductive behavior and build a culture of accountability. Fearless
leadership starts with establishing uniform behavioral standards and learn-
ing how to confront and overcome blind spots.

THE 10 BLIND SPOTS THAT DERAIL LEADERS

For the past 30 years, our organization has worked closely with CEOs,
executives, and their companies. Regardless of the industry—mining,
agriculture, finance, technology—the same recurrent themes emerge.
When leaders complain about stalled initiatives, inconsistent execution,
or lack of leadership alignment, the primary source of the problem can
be traced to the lack of a uniform standard of behavior that is consistently
applied. Our consulting group documented common, repetitive behav-
iors we observed in over 30,000 leaders and executives.
In helping leaders learn how they could be more effective, we focused
on areas they could influence and change: personal behaviors that were
limiting their success and results. When we provided them with candid
feedback from peers, direct reports, and the next level up, most said they
had received this input before.
But when we identified their blind spots and the emotional impact they
had on others, they did not recognize themselves. Up until this point, they