As a young leader, there was one thing I valued above all else: harmony. I truly believed that if I modeled positivity for my team, we’d nurture a culture of cohesion, completely free of conflict. It sounds like paradise, but in reality, it’s more like Narnia: a mythical land that existed only in my imagination.
It turns out that all my efforts to preserve the peace had left issues simmering beneath the surface. I’d inadvertently created an environment where it wasn’t ok to express dissent, voice opposition, or even raise a potential problem. The team sensed that I wouldn’t—or couldn’t—deal with conflict, and so they simply stewed.
But it wasn’t until years later (as in, very recently) that I realized what was happening. I’d been operating with a blind spot, and a big and dangerous one at that.
I’ve also since realized that this scenario isn’t unique to me. As it turns out, this is how blind spots form for a lot of leaders, and it may be years later (or never) that they come to light.
What Are Leadership Blind Spots?
Most leadership blind spots aren’t the result of ignorance or lack of effort. In fact, they often form around behaviors that made you successful. You sensed that something that worked, so you leaned in.
In my case, leaning into optimism and positivity had genuinely inspired my team early on. They needed purpose and vision, and I believed I was providing them with reassurance and stability. What I couldn’t see at the time was that I was also neglecting one of the most important responsibilities of leadership: navigating both the good and the bad.
We all have a tendency to repeat behaviors that earn us success, trust, or recognition. But over time, those same behaviors can begin to limit our impact. Eventually, what once felt familiar and efficient just slips into autopilot. Those automatic patterns shape how you communicate, make decisions, and relate to others— often without you noticing, and sometimes not in helpful ways.
That’s the nature of blind spots: you don’t see them precisely because they’ve become automatic. They sit just outside of your field of vision, influencing outcomes long before you realize they’re there.
The challenge isn’t to eliminate your blind spots altogether. Instead, it’s to develop the awareness and intentionality to recognize them when they emerge, pause long enough to reflect, and choose differently.
How Blind Spots Develop
Blind spots aren’t a character flaw, and they don’t signal incompetence. Everyone has them, including capable, experienced leaders. Most develop gradually, shaped by habits, experiences, and internal and external pressures.
Common contributors include:
- Success Patterns. When something works, you naturally return to it. Over time, “This has always worked for me” becomes a default setting. The risk is that you might continue using the same approach long after the context has changed.
- Escalating Pressure. Leadership rarely allows time and space for reflection. The pace is fast, expectations are high, and decisions almost always feel urgent. Under this kind of pressure, reflection is often the first thing to suffer. That makes it harder to notice how your behavior is landing.
- Unexamined Assumptions. We all carry assumptions about people, conflict, communication, and authority. When those assumptions go untested, they start to shape your reactions. You respond to what you think is happening, not necessarily what is happening.
- Feedback Gaps. Candid feedback is rare at the best of times, and even rarer when power dynamics are involved. Out of politeness, fear, or respect for authority, people often hold back. The result is that leaders receive incomplete information about their real impact.
While these patterns are rarely conscious choices, they significantly affect how people see, hear, and experience your leadership.
The Cost of Ignoring Your Blind Spots
Over time, blind spots show up in recognizable ways. They might look like:
- Repeating the same communication patterns, even when they’re not landing
- Misreading others’ reactions or intentions
- Feeling confused when outcomes don’t match effort
- Strained trust, disengagement, or heightened tension
But here’s an important distinction: impact does not equal intent. Blind spots often live in the gap between the two. So, when a leader unintentionally shuts down feedback, avoids hard conversations, or overlooks concerns, the disconnect grows—even if their intentions are positive.
Left unexamined, that gap between intent and impact can erode trust and damage your effectiveness.
How to Surface Your Blind Spots
Blind spots are inherently hard to spot (hence the name), but they aren’t impossible to uncover. The leaders who make the biggest impact are those who are willing to look for them.
Start with honest self-reflection:
- Where do I consistently feel misunderstood?
- What feedback do I tend to dismiss or explain away?
- When things don’t go as planned, what do I usually blame first?
- What patterns keep repeating in my relationships or team dynamics?
Then look at your leadership from the outside:
- How might others experience my communication style?
- What might someone hesitate to tell me?
- Where might my intentions get lost in translation?
Finally, ask yourself the most important question of all:
- Who could I invite to offer honest perspective—and how would I respond if they did?
Intentionality as the Antidote
Blind spots thrive on autopilot, and autopilot keeps you doubling down on what you’ve always done. Once you recognize the behaviors and tendencies that are no longer serving you or your team, it’s time to shift gears.
Intentionality is the best antidote to autopilot. It disrupts the cycle by inviting you to pause, reflect, and make a different choice.
Autopilot looks like:
- Reacting instead of reflecting
- Repeating familiar (even if ineffective) behaviors
- Moving fast without checking context or challenging assumptions
Intentionality does something different:
- Creates space to notice patterns
- Interrupts automatic responses
- Turns everyday moments into opportunities for awareness
Intentionality doesn’t necessarily mean slowing down. It means being conscious about how you show up.
Intentionality in Your Leadership Practice
Intention is foundational to effective leadership, but it’s not a one-time insight. Instead, it’s a muscle you continue to build throughout your leadership practice as you reflect, learn, and grow.
Sometimes, what you need is structured time and space to notice the things that are hard to see alone. At Transitions Coaching, we help leaders build the awareness they need for meaningful growth. If you’re ready to elevate your leadership practice, we’d love to connect.
