How Clearing Blind Spots Can Create Better Vision
We all have them. We have blind spots about our behaviors, habits, work routines, leadership skills, and emotional biases. Of course, the problem with blind spots is that we are blind to them, and we fail to address our own weaknesses and rob ourselves of great vision for the future of our organizations, careers, and lives. Having better vision is a great goal, but what is the key to uncovering blind spots and unlocking the vision?
Self-Assessment
The foundation to uncovering blind spots is through self-assessment. Accomplishing self-assessment can take the form of a session with your family and friends advising you. A 360 assessment works well as do some other assessments. Sometimes the blind spots are so large, it takes longer. Here’s a recent true scenario. A participant is looking at their assessment stating, “This is not me. People tell me this is me, but this is not me.” This individual is reviewing a scientific, valid, reliable, non-biased assessment in which the participant input the information and is still in denial about their blind spots. I can’t make this stuff up. When one fails to open their mind that they could possibly be a contributing factor to their own lack of success, serious work lies ahead. This is where coaching can bring about a 360 change in attitude. Once the mind begins to open, then the keys to clearing up blind spots can begin to bring about change.
Critical Thinking
Self-assessment allows us the advantage of being better critical thinkers, because now we are aware of our emotional biases. We all have them. One is difficult to budge and that is our egocentric bias. We think the way we are is the right way for everyone else. However, conquering our emotional biases allow us the freedom to view our own actions with a more critical eye and from a more critical perspective. Understanding our emotional biases and conquering them allow us to be more analytical in all our thought processes and helps us be more successful in every endeavor.
Intellectual Curiosity
Now that we have our heads out from under our armpits, we gain curiosity about the world around us. This is how leaders keep up with trends, the competition, and the performance of their teams. Curiosity, even at its most basic level, helps open new worlds, introduces new ideas, and keeps the mind active. In fact, according to Dr. Charan Ranganath, in a study of which he was part, posits that if we are curious about a topic, even if we don’t find the topic all that interesting, curiosity enables us to learn and remember it better. Further, curiosity helps us to be better decision makers and problems solvers. What leader doesn’t want a team of those people?
Clearer Insight and Openness
A culture of transparency in the workplace is always a good idea. In customer service, we say that when a customer gives you feedback, they are giving you another opportunity to do better. When an employee gives feedback, they typically get shut down. Feedback is a gift from both the customer and your team members. As a leader, being willing to share the good, the bad, and the ugly helps build trust and retention. Yes, there is always a limit in what to share, one must always act with decorum and responsibility. However, surprising employees with a merger, sale of the company, or a forthcoming lay off is never a good idea and only shows disrespect.
Jan Hills, Advisor, Speaker, Author and Partner at Head Heart + Brain describes insight like this: “Insight refers to that moment of clarity when a solution comes to you [,] or a connection is made between new material and existing knowledge, and you know instinctively that it's correct.” It’s often better to step away from the problems you’re trying to solve. In addition, collaborating with others can lead to breakthrough insights as well.
Conscious Awareness
There is a plethora of information from the scientific, academic, and psychology communities on conscious awareness. Many of us who are less cognitive in these areas may, after reading some of this information and even finding it fascinating, go away scratching our heads and wondering how to apply what we’ve read in a practical sense. So, here’s my two cents. Self-assessment creates a more aware state for an individual. However, unless we are conscious about how to adapt, and in some cases (Gasp!) even change, what good does that awareness do us? I’ll use myself as an example. According to my DISC profile, I’m a high D/I. I’m aware that I need to back off at times. I’m aware that I need to not bark commands at people like a commando. So, for me to be consciously aware, I may prepare myself before an encounter to ensure I don’t come off like Attila of the Hun. I must be aware not to overpower other people with my opinions and ideas. In other words, putting my awareness into the consciousness of the current moment and apply a better choice of behavior.
Now we can see how clearing up blind spots can lead to better visons through better decision making, problem solving, and real time consciousness of our behaviors. What’s in your blind spot?
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