Leadership is often portrayed as a bold, visionary pursuit — charting the course, making the tough calls, and inspiring others to follow. But the reality is far more nuanced. Even the most capable leaders have blind spots: those habits, assumptions, or behaviours they simply don’t see in themselves — but everyone else does.
These blind spots aren’t flaws in character; they’re gaps in perspective. Left unaddressed, they can quietly undermine credibility, derail teams, and stall growth. The good news? Once identified, they can be mitigated. Often, what separates good leaders from great ones is their willingness to do the uncomfortable work of looking inward.
Here’s how to identify and overcome your leadership blind spots — and why executive coaching might be the key to accelerating that process.
What Are Leadership Blind Spots?
Blind spots are the behaviours, patterns, or beliefs that you’re unaware of — but that shape how you lead. They’re often rooted in early successes or past experiences that no longer serve you in your current role or environment. Common examples include:
- Interrupting others or dominating conversations
- Avoiding difficult conversations
- Overconfidence in decision-making
- Micromanagement masked as “high standards”
- Lack of clarity in delegation
- Resistance to feedback
- Assumptions about how others perceive your leadership
Because they’re unconscious, blind spots often feel like strengths to the person exhibiting them, which is why they’re hard to spot, and even harder to change.
Why Blind Spots Matter
Left unchecked, blind spots create a ripple effect. They can lead to disengaged teams, higher turnover, missed opportunities, and internal friction. They also impact a leader’s self-awareness — arguably the most important leadership capability, as it drives everything from communication and collaboration to decision-making and influence.
Blind spots are often at the root of feedback like:
- “They don’t listen.”
- “They think they’re always right.”
- “It’s hard to speak up around them.”
- “They’re not as approachable as they think they are.”
And if you’re hearing those things (or not hearing much at all), it might be time to dig deeper.
How to Spot Your Blind Spots
Identifying your blind spots requires a deliberate shift from self-assurance to self-inquiry. Here are five ways to start that process:
1. Solicit Candid Feedback (And Listen)
Generic feedback isn’t useful, and most people won’t offer the truth unless they feel safe doing so. Ask specific, open-ended questions to colleagues, team members, and even your board:
- “What’s one thing I do that might be holding me back as a leader?”
- “What should I do more of, less of, or stop altogether?”
- “Where do I create bottlenecks or confusion?”
Frame these conversations as an investment in your growth, not a test of loyalty. Then, resist the urge to explain or justify — just listen.
2. Use Structured Tools (360 Feedback, Assessments, etc.)
Sometimes, qualitative feedback alone isn’t enough. Structured tools like 360-degree feedback reports or occupational personality assessments can help quantify patterns and highlight discrepancies between how you see yourself and how others see you.
Look out for consistent feedback across different stakeholder groups. If peers, direct reports, and clients are all pointing to the same issue — that’s a signal worth paying attention to.
3. Observe Your Reactions Under Pressure
Pressure reveals patterns. When deadlines are tight, stakes are high, or conflict arises, what do you do?
- Do you retreat or become overly controlling?
- Do you shut down or defer difficult conversations?
- Do you assume silence equals agreement?
Track your behaviours in high-stress moments. Ask yourself: “Is this how I want to be perceived as a leader?”
4. Reflect on Feedback You’ve Ignored or Rejected
Think back to any feedback you’ve dismissed or disagreed with. Were you too quick to defend yourself? Did you brush it off as someone else’s problem?
Sometimes the things we resist most are the ones we most need to confront. Sit with those moments. There might be something valuable hidden underneath the discomfort.
5. Look at the Team You’ve Built (or perhaps even lost)
Your team is a mirror. Are your best people staying, growing, and challenging you — or are they walking out the door? Do you have diversity of thought, or a culture of yes-people?
Patterns in hiring, retention, and team dynamics often reflect a leader’s unconscious preferences or behaviours. If your team feels imbalanced or underpowered, your leadership style might be part of the issue.
Overcoming Your Blind Spots
Identifying blind spots is just the start. The harder part is changing long-held behaviours in a way that’s sustainable, without becoming overly self-conscious or second-guessing everything.
Here’s how to approach it:
1. Create a Feedback Loop
Make it clear — repeatedly — that you welcome feedback. That includes dissenting opinions, challenging questions, and honest input. But don’t just say it. Prove it by acting on what you hear.
Over time, people will feel more comfortable telling you what you need to know, not just what they think you want to hear.
2. Find a Trusted Sounding Board
Not every issue is suitable for a team discussion. You need a space where you can talk openly about your leadership challenges without judgment, and get real, unfiltered perspective in return.
That’s where a mentor or executive coach comes in!
3. Be Patient but Consistent
Change won’t happen overnight — especially if your blind spot is linked to identity or past success. But with consistent effort, even entrenched behaviours can shift.
Track your progress, revisit feedback regularly, and treat it as a continuous loop: learn, apply, reflect, refine.
4. Anchor Feedback to Outcomes
Blind spots aren’t just about personality; they impact results. So, rather than seeing feedback as personal criticism, tie it to your goals:
- “If I improve my delegation, our delivery speed should increase.”
- “If I listen more in meetings, engagement might go up.”
- “If I handle conflict better, we’ll make faster decisions.”
This framing helps make the work of self-improvement more practical — and less about ego.
The Role of Executive Coaching
At a certain point, self-reflection has its limits. There are things you simply can’t see on your own — and things your team may never feel comfortable raising.
That’s where executive coaching becomes transformative.
A good coach doesn’t tell you what to do. They challenge your assumptions, help you spot your patterns, and hold up the mirror when you’re too close to the glass. They bring tools, perspective, and — crucially — accountability.
Here’s how executive coaching often helps overcome blind spots:
- Clarity: Helping you distinguish between surface behaviours and root causes.
- Perspective: Offering a neutral, external view that’s unfiltered.
- Structure: Turning vague feedback into tangible goals and action plans.
- Accountability: Ensuring your development isn’t lost in the noise of day-to-day priorities.
- Support: Providing a platform to talk through high-stakes issues without an agenda or judgment.
Many leaders find coaching to be the only environment where they can speak freely and think clearly.
Seeing Yourself Is a Choice
You don’t need to have a leadership crisis to explore your blind spots. The best leaders don’t wait until things go wrong — they build in time to step back, reflect, and evolve.
If you’re a founder, CEO, or senior leader and want to understand where your blind spots might be, CJPI offer bespoke executive coaching tailored, based on real-life experience, and grounded in action. Learn more about CJPI’s coaching services here.
