5 Easy Ways to Effectively Monitor Your Organization’s Blind Spots

Business, Marketing Strategy


“The more we fixate on our own perspectives, the narrower our fields of vision — and our minds.” Katya Andresen, The Perception Paradox – Insight dwells in the places you don’t see, April 14, 2019, blog

Following some of the coverage of the Theranos/Elizabeth Holmes trial reinforced the criticality of having appropriate checks and balances in business (and life, quite frankly).  Even the most self-aware person has blind spots, and like my 11th grade Driver’s Education teacher Mr. Earhardt always said, “Remember to always check your blind spots.”  

As consultants who get an “inside” view of many different organizations, we see the effects of unchecked blind spots play out in a variety of ways – long-held organizational “truths” that remain unchecked and uncontested; skepticism around data that refutes commonly held assumptions about the business; the unwavering belief that what’s worked in the past will work in the future.  We also see the specific situations and decisions that enable these blind spots to persist – lack of diversity, poor feedback loops, conflict avoidance, feeling the pressure to move faster, lack of bandwidth, etc.

Persistent blind spots can be detrimental to a leader and an organization’s (or team’s) ability to grow successfully.  Here are 5 easy ways to effectively monitor blind spots.

  1. Pay Attention:  Actively observe, be present, listen more than you talk.  
  2. Maintain Balance: Surround yourself with people who have experiences, skill sets, and backgrounds that are different from yours.
  3. Embrace Conflict:  Actively work through organizational tension and points of conflict, allow your team to grapple with new ideas, especially those that challenge existing beliefs. 
  4. Keep Learning: Be curious. Stay open to learning new things, truly understanding the “why” to spur personal growth 
  5. Solicit Feedback: Directly ask your leaders, peers, and team where they perceive your blind spots to be and accept feedback gracefully.

TL;DR

By definition, blind spots are things you are unaware of; things that are lurking out of sight.  As a leader in an organization, here’s what you need to do:

  1. Assume you already have (or will) have blind spots (everyone does)
  2. Build effective checks and balances to bring visibility to blind spots
  3. Accept your blind spots as an opportunity to learn and grow

For more content on how to successfully grow your B2B SaaS company, check out the Mosaic blog…

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