5 Blind-Spots That Sink Your Boat Pt. 1
Blind-spots are like rowing a boat that’s full of holes, but you can’t find the holes.
If you don’t see the holes in the boat, you’ll sink and wonder why. You’ll bail to the point of exhaustion and give up in frustration.
Leaders row hard and sink every day.
Wasted effort:
A leader with blind-spots acts on wrong beliefs and assumptions. You pour energy and effort into behaviors that don’t serve you or others well – all the while thinking you’re doing well.
The worst blind-spot is thinking you don’t have any blind-spots.
5 blind-spots that sink your boat:
The soon to be published book, What Are Your Blind Spots, identifies five common blind-spots that hold leaders back. One thing I like about the book is blind-spots are explored as they impact organizational life.
Blind-spot #1: Purpose
You have holes in your boat if you believe purpose matters, but it DOESN’T drive your results.
The question: How do you put purpose at the center of business operations and achieve financial results because of it?
Purpose exercise:
- What is your organization’s desired impact on people?
- What would be reflected in a purpose that is unique to your organization?
- How would your organizational purpose provide strategic inspiration?
- What is there in your organizational purpose that speaks to the head and the heart?
Blind-spot #2: Story
You have holes in your boat if you believe you have a story PEOPLE care about. If you have an organizational story, it probably doesn’t touch anyone but you.
Most organizations have vision statements that put people to sleep. If you handed your vision statement to a stranger, would they have any idea what you really do?
If you handed your vision statement to an employee, would they see themselves in it?
The question: How can you connect real stories to strategy so it’s compelling?
More in the next post…
What blind-spots do leaders have?
How might leaders deal with blind-spots?
**This post is adapted from, “What are Your Blind Spots: Conquering the 5 Misconceptions that Hold Leaders Back,” by Jim Haudan and Rich Berens.
Order on Amazon.
More importantly than having a story is living the story. You can’t TELL people how much you care…. you must SHOW them how much you care. Until then, it’s just a ‘story.’
Thanks Big. The thoughts that came to mind are about a story that touches and impacts a leaders life so much that they are living it.
I think the blind spot in most of this is the idea that people people come to your organisation because of the reason why you work. This is a fallacy. Most people go to your organisation because they want what you do, and you’re closer/cheaper. There are a few unicorns out there, but 95%+ of the time, quick and cheap beats how much you care.
Thanks Mitch. Price and convenience matter for a lot of things. Quality is another factor. Another factor is do I like the company. However, I might purchase from a company I don’t like because they have what I want or they have a better product.
All the Why’s in the world don’t overcome lousy service, poor quality, and high prices.
However, I like to do business with people I like. One reason I like someone is I like their purpose and values.
An organization with compelling why’s is more likely to produce a great/desirable product. I think that’s the point of the purpose idea.
You are less likely to consistently produce a great product if you don’t have a great WHY.
Dan, I think this applies more the “higher touch” the product is. I know people who are like this around buying cars (I’m not), but I know nobody who feels this way about buying packets of nails or tins of Coke.
Leaders need to be open and hungry for feedback. There are so many good tools out there that help with self-awareness. A good example is a 360 review. It’s sent to co-workers, bosses, friends, and family and really allows for a comprehensive look into how others see and experience you as a leader. Takes true humility to do that 🙌🏾
Because we a living in an ever changing world, leaders will encounter new blind spots. Not sure what the solution is, I guess being creative maybe an answer when presented with un unusual blind spot due to the advancement of knowledge and technology.