What's In Your Blindspots?

If you remember back to your driver's training, you remember one of the first things you learned was that you have blind spots on your mirrors — which means that you can't really get around the fact that there's a certain part of your car that you cannot see by looking with the naked eye in an ordinary mirror. So you've got to compensate for that: turn your head, look around, be aware — something, someone, maybe dangerously, could be in your blind spot.

Well, that applies to the rest of our lives as well. All of us have blind spots. We don't know ourselves that well. We only know what we see in the mirror of our lives, what's reflected back to us. We know what we are in relation to other people based on their responses to us. We assume we understand how we behave, we assume we know our patterns — but maybe it's only through good, honest, thought-provoking, change-provoking relationships that we can actually determine what's in the middle of our back, that we'll never know unless somebody kindly and honestly tells us it's there.

So I remember Loren and I, some time ago, heard a speaker talking about, introducing us to, this idea of blind spots, and it really provoked our thought. We talked about it. And so, what would that be like — to get together with our teammates and to say, "Listen, here's what I know about myself: I think I handle stress well under pressure," and watch their faces, and see if their eyes widen a little, if they look at each other and go, "Really? That's what he thinks?" So maybe there's a way to have those conversations so that we can grow. If I don't know, how can I possibly change? That's the principle.

So what I'm saying to you is, all of us have these aspects of ourselves — at work, in our leadership, in our teamwork, and in our private lives — that we're not aware of. And it really demands that we develop the kinds of relationships with other people — colleagues, friends, and family — where we can say, "I need your help. I can only see so much of me. I know so much. I'm asking you to help me turn my eye around so I can see the parts of my back, the parts of myself, that I'm otherwise blind to."

So my suggestion to you is, maybe make an inventory of your qualities and say, "Well, how am I as a leader? How do I think I'm perceived?" And then go with that to somebody whom you trust, who you know will take care of you, and without even reading the list to them, ask them what you might not be aware of in your behavior. Usually that means it's a pattern, and usually it means that everybody else around you sees it. I hope this is helpful.