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Strategy

All Leaders Have Blind Spots

Blind Spots

In truth, we all have patterns, habits, and beliefs that limit us. The challenge is that we generally can’t see how those thought-patterns and beliefs hold us back.

Blind spots can severely impact a leader’s strategic vision, their course of action, and their rate of success. Blind spots can impact decision-making and creativity, and they act to limit the strategic initiatives we are willing to consider. They even affect how we relate to others – hampering our leadership effectiveness, our political adeptness, and our executive presence.

It doesn’t matter how experienced we are, what our background is, our age, level of education, or intelligence. We’re all subject to blind spots. Leaders, like everyone else, acquire blind spots from life, but as leaders, they suffer additional blind spots caused by their need to operate within the corporate environment.

Blind spots show up in our beliefs, our thoughts, and our actions. When it comes to our thoughts, the same thinking that got us where we are can’t take us further. If we keep thinking in the same way, we’ll keep coming up with the same kinds of solutions. Our thinking becomes stagnant without outside stimulation. The only way to expand one’s thinking is to get fresh, outside perspective.

When we get attached to the process of how we imagine success will be attained we become blind to other possibilities. And when that happens, we’re like a fly incessantly beating its wings against a pane of glass trying to reach its goal. It doesn’t matter how hard we try if we’re pursuing success in an ineffective manner. When we’re not willing to consider other courses of action, we limit our success. How does one distinguish between dogged determination and blindness? It usually requires input from an outside, unbiased source.

Additional blind spots within the corporate world arise from two sources. The first source is corporate culture – corporate culture in a general sense as well as the specific “culture” of an organization. We hold beliefs about how organizations should function, how they should be structured, and which behaviors are valued. Every organization has its own special culture – either by design or by default. And while a corporate culture can be an asset, it often acts to create blind spots with executives. The second source of blind spots arising from the corporate world stems from the need of leaders to achieve productivity through others. As executives, we run the risk of our thoughts and beliefs being influenced by the thoughts and beliefs of the people under our guidance.

Breaking free of limiting thoughts and beliefs is essential for achieving the results we want, however, there are some inherent challenges in releasing blind spots. Many blind spots are so deeply ingrained within our make-up, we’re no longer aware they control us. Without outside perspective, these beliefs appear to be truths. It’s important to keep in mind that generally these limiting beliefs are YOUR truths rather than THE truth.

It is critical that leaders identify and release their self-limiting blind spots. To that end, it requires outside perspective and input from someone who can point out what they can’t see for themselves.

Please give us a call and let us help you and/or your leaders move past their blind spots, and achieve the success they want and the organization needs.

April 18, 2023 Filed Under: Leadership, Strategy


3 Mistakes to Resist in Strategy Development

Strategy

I’ve seen this scenario over and over again. Companies looking to increase profits develop a strategy to bring them closer to where they want to be. Except that the so-called strategy they develop isn’t really a strategy at all. It’s just a goal. Or sometimes it’s simply a platitude – a nice-sounding, but meaningless statement.

Regardless of whether they develop a goal or a platitude, the results are always the same. The so-called “strategy” is never realized. No amount of encouragement, accountability or table pounding will lead to achieving the desired results. Only a true strategy stands a chance of achieving significant results.

If you really want to develop a strategy that achieves great results, it is essential to avoid these three mistakes.

Mistake #1: Developing a Platitude
Let’s dispense with platitudes right up front. Platitudes are nice sounding phrases that accomplish nothing. A typical platitude might read, “We strive to be the recognized leader in our field and meet our customer’s expectations of excellence.” It gives no direction, isn’t actionable, and addresses no particular issue. There’s no way to execute on it and it can’t really be measured. A platitude is not a strategy.

Mistake #2: Developing a Goal
A goal is just a metric to measure progress in the execution of a strategy. It has no emotional or inspirational component. It’s simply a means of determining progress. A strategic-sounding goal might be, “Our strategy is to double revenues over the next three years.” No matter how detailed the plan is to achieve that goal and regardless of the fanfare with which it is rolled out, this non-strategy is simply a goal to double sales – nothing more. Not only that, but the desire to double revenues is completely arbitrary; a figure pulled out of the air. The only people who will be enthused about this non-strategy are the ones who set the goal. And while it may result in an initial burst of activity and enthusiasm, they soon fade, resulting in business as usual. A goal is not a strategy.

Mistake #3: Developing a Tactic
Tactics are the means by which a strategic initiative can be achieved. Tactics – like goals – have no emotion or energy behind them. They are simply the mechanics of how things will get done. A typical strategic-sounding tactic might be, “Our strategy is to increase the sales force by 20% over the course of this year.” It’s simply a statement of the mechanics to achieve something. The problem is that that “something” is undefined and therefore this metric is viewed as arbitrary as well. Just as in the case of the pursuit of a goal, executing a tactic in the absence of a strategic objective make sense for a while, until the newness wears off and then enthusiasm wanes. There simply isn’t a compelling reason to achieve it. A tactic is not a strategy.

Develop a True Strategy
A good strategy, in contrast to platitudes, goals or tactics, addresses an issue or problem, and provides a direction for the company to move. It also provides the reason for the initiative, creating a desire to achieve it. By way of example, if the core problem is a product line which is not differentiated from the competition, the strategy might be, “Our strategy is to become known as the innovator in our industry by developing customized products and services.” This is an initiative that people can get behind (buy-in) and strive to achieve. The strategy causes the company and its people to become better than they presently are. Additionally, it incorporates a compelling “why” and embodies something people can take pride in achieving. By developing a true strategy, excellent results can be achieved and the desired financial goals realized. 

November 7, 2022 Filed Under: Leadership, Strategy


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