Executive coaching blog

Look at the cross below with your left eye and cover your right eye, moving the page from too close to you to position about 30cm or so away and you will find the circle simply disappears. This is the true Blind Spot.

 

The term has come to mean things we don't 'see' but many people do not realise that it really means that. If something is in your blind spot you are not aware of it and also don’t realise that you are not aware of it. It might be described as a nil awareness area.

Let's find some examples. It is easier to see blind spots on others than ourselves because our own blind spots, by definition, we're not aware of.

Have you ever noticed how other people's children have much more annoying habits than your own? The parents don't 'see' that behaviour as a fault, but you do. Your own children will have faults too that you are not aware of.

Customer service is a typical area of a blind spot. Some businesses you deal with at odd times do things that are annoying or not conducive to getting you to come back. This tends to be true of small businesses and the staff of big businesses. If some of the large department stores realised how much business was lost by poor staff sending customers away, after the millions they spent getting them into the store, they would have a fit. Ask them and they will defend them. They may talk about 'customer service' but they don't see what really goes on, and so it continues. That's a blind spot.

If you think of what your customers and potential customers think of your service you may get an idea of where they place you or your business. If a competitor has a bigger market share, then let's face it, customers think more of them than you.

So what do your customers think of you? This is a common blind spot. People don't 'see' what problems the customer has with the company.

The road to success is really a journey of finding the blind spots that prevent you from being where you think you should be.

People who do stupid things or who don't do the right thing are simply displaying their blind spots. Even pointing out their shortcomings doesn't work. This is because they can't 'see' them. As far as they are concerned they are simply 'not there' and there must be something wrong with you.

An effective way to become aware of blind spots is to observe results. If expected results do not occur, then there are blind spots. The trick is to find them and you don't even know what you are looking for! This is why an outside observer is so valuable. If they don't have your blind spots they will be able to point them out to you, but often people close to you have your exact blind spots.

You are where you are with the problems you have, due simply to the blind spots you have. Once you get the opportunity to distinguish your blind spots your actions will immediately be impacted and so will your results.
 

What it takes to be a successful, extraordinary leader in this century is vastly different than what it took in the 20th, and light years beyond what it took in the 19th.

In a global society of ever expanding connectedness and volumes of freely available information, the fact is that it is the shift in the ‘follower’ that now demands a shift in leaders.

200 years ago societal position was what qualified one to be a leader. 100 years ago leadership theory, based almost entirely on the military model, was added to societal position and hence command and control was further entrenched.

Command and control has dominated the practice of government and business leadership for the past 100 years and in 2011 we witnessed the spectacular beginning of that model's death throws. The 'mexican wave' that travelled, and is still travelling, across the middle east, is fuelled by the expansion of information and communication that has rapidly accelerated in the past 10 years.

Command and control is predicated on a specific relationship with one’s followers. The command and control leader has some level of control of information, the withholding of which allows for manipulation and domination. The perspective insinuates a view of superiority over others, often ‘for their own good’. Arrogance, narrow or bloody mindedness are viewed as strong leadership qualities – seen as decisiveness, a willingness to be accountable and take action. To not be swayed by others view is seen as a strength of character, something to aspire to. No wonder women have struggled in this world.

If the paradigm is leading by telling others what to do, then of course you have to be the ultimate authority on what is the right thing to do. The command and control leader’s power is founded on his/her being all knowing, and the gathering and withholding of information is necessary to sustain that position.

As information becomes freely available and the general population gets smarter, this foundation is getting eroded and the command and control style of leadership is fast becoming bankrupt.

So what’s leadership in this new era? What does it take to be a successful, extraordinary leader today?

If it is not about dominating, manipulating, withholding information, controlling, having all the answers – then what?

For centuries there have been real examples of the kind of leadership that’s being demanded in today’s world. There have been many ‘prophets’ of leadership and in fact there has been volumes written about these people and yet their version of leadership has not been the one most commonly emulated. They were before their time, their time is now.

Being a Leader, Not Doing Leadership

Have you ever known someone who is a leader in terms of their position, like CEO/Scout Leader/Manager, but who doesn’t BE a leader? What is it that is missing?

Let’s look at some of those ‘prophets’. People like Jesus Christ/Buddha/Mary McKillop, or Haile Selassie/Nelson Mandela/Golda Meir/Ben Disraeli. What are the ways of being we can observe in these people?

Are they deeply connected to their followers?

Are they serving others?

Are they open, inclusive and collaborative?

Are they willing to speak the truth without being righteous about it?

Are they generous with themselves?

Are they compassionate?

Are they tough when toughness is required?

Are they aware of and responsible for their flaws?

Do they stay with what they are passionate about, even in the face of adversity?

Are they focused on ME or WE?

Do they take responsibility for their failures or blame others?

Are they authentic?

Authentic Leadership

“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.” Victor Frankl (1905 – 1997)

Leadership is a privilege, not a right or a position. You must earn the right to lead and never lose sight of the gift you have been given by others to do so.

In today’s highly connected and informed world there is no longer any space for a leader, or someone aspiring to be one, to avoid dealing with the tough questions like:

Who am I?

What are my motives as a leader?

What are my shortcomings?

What are my aspirations?

Being a successful, extraordinary leader today demands an authenticity, firstly with oneself and then with others. It is about evolving as a human being, never resting on ‘I’ve made it’, continually pushing oneself beyond limitations in the areas of knowledge, expertise and relationships with others.

Leadership is not the exclusive domain of those in leadership positions. The world today needs lots of leadership. It is a way of being that’s as accessible to the homemaker as it is to a corporate CEO.

The term ‘comfort zone’ is something that most people are familiar with. Yet on the Webster’s Online dictionary the only definition you get is: “The temperature range (between 28 and 30 degrees Centigrade) at which the naked human body is able to maintain a heat balance without shivering or sweating.”

I kind of like that definition because it conjures up what people experience when they get jolted outside their comfort zone in the terms described by Wikipedia: “The comfort zone is a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk (White 2009).”

In other words, when we get pushed outside of our comfort zone we experience being vulnerable (naked) and very likely we have associated physical reactions to that state such as increased heart rate, sweaty palms, reddening face, feeling sick in the stomach, tight in the chest etc. and then we do stuff to deal with that experience – we might make a joke, or blame someone else, or withdraw, or pretend we know something, or justify ourselves.

The funny thing about comfort zones is that whilst it is generally accepted that we all operate within them, if I asked you to describe what yours is you would probably have a hard time doing that with any kind of accuracy. The truth is that the only way we know we operate inside of a comfort zone is through the experience we have when we are outside of it, when we are uncomfortable. The experience of being uncomfortable indicates we are outside of our standard ‘behavioural, ‘anxiety-neutral’ condition, and for most of us that is a rare occurrence.

Not knowing what constitutes and defines your Comfort Zone can be a handicap in the game of being a better manager or leader. It means you have a blind spot and until you have identified what it is that is dictating your behaviours and actions you cannot effectively interrupt them to adjust and impact your effectiveness and performance.

Here’s 3 things you can do in the space of 30 minutes that will help you to define your Comfort Zone:

Reflect on and write down in what situations, including which conversations, do you feel uncomfortable?

In each of those situations, what do you experience physically?

In each of those situations, what do you do to get yourself back to feeling comfortable again?