Know Your Blind Spots

Whether you’ve been at the helm of your business for 20 years or 20 days, you’ve probably got some blind spots in the day-to-day happenings of your business. You’d like to think that what everyone tells you and all that you see is real, but often these are not as they appear to be.

Direct feedback

Before you became the president of the company, you were privy to all the departmental chatter. With that it was easier to sort the fact from the fiction. Now that you’ve got the big chair, you rely more on direct feedback from your key staff. That’s not always easy to for them to do, nor is it easy for you to accept. And while you encourage an open and honest communication channel, some folks are just reluctant to take you up on it.

Your leadership style

How you lead can also have a direct correlation to the feedback you receive. My experience shows that those with an open and collaborative leadership style seem to be more receptive to both positive and challenging viewpoints. These leaders have demonstrated to their team that it is safe to bring positive and sometimes challenging ideas to the table. While those who focus on a command-and-control style often shun ideas or viewpoints that are not in their favor. Both these styles can lead to the degree of width and depth of the blind spots in your leadership effectiveness.

Impact on your business

A blind spot certainly can’t be viewed as a strength. This weakness, or gap, in operating effectiveness can challenge how well decisions are made, the timeliness of those decisions, and the effectiveness of capturing the opportunities at hand. These gaps can also lead to missing out on market trends, customer needs and employee discontent. Understanding that they are present, work with your senior team and strategic advisors to help identify the gaps in your operating style.

These are ideas for making both you as a leader, and your business even better. If you have ideas or comments on the subject, please include them below. Good luck and remember, doing nothing certainly is an option, just not a great one!

Mike Philie can help validate what’s working and what may need to change in your business. Changing the trajectory of a business is difficult to do while simultaneously operating the core competencies. Mike provides strategy and insight to owners and CEOs in the Graphic Communications Industry by providing direct and realistic advice, not being afraid to voice the unpopular opinion and helping leaders navigate change through a common sense and practical approach. Learn more at www.philiegroup.com, LinkedIn or email at mphilie@philiegroup.com.