Taking off Our Blinders
For leaders, removing the blinders helps us see around the corner and across the landscape, and brings into view things we otherwise would have been blind to.
Automobiles have improved with the addition of safety features to reduce and even remove blindspots.
For us as leaders…
Our blindspots present risks.
Our blindspots prevent us from seeing opportunities.
Blindspots can expose us to threats – both those within our organizations and outside.
As leaders, we are wise to reduce our own blindspots.
There are numerous ways to do this.
Here are three:
- Using data to monitor performance
- Conducting environmental scans
- Soliciting perspectives
Using data to monitor performance
Leaders who routinely monitor organizational performance, using carefully selected metrics, can uncover emerging situations before things spiral. Deteriorating revenue, growing wait lists, dissatisfied staff, declining quality. These are but a few of the conditions that can surface in a routine and structured review of key performance measures. Some are best monitored weekly, others monthly or quarterly.
While one can still try to “explain away” any negative shifts that are spotted, high-performing leaders view data as a treasure. Metrics plotted over time can signal change – both positive and negative, both predicted and unexpected. I am not a proponent of knee-jerk reactions to each new data point. Just the opposite in fact. When one becomes very skillful in interpreting data, we know when to delve deeper, initiate improvements, or when best to keep monitoring.
The key is ensuring the right leaders are looking at the right data at the optimal frequency. Knowing when to probe further to seek out underlying causes, when to intervene before performance declines further, and when to escalate.
I often compare a well-run organizational performance review process to this command center:
Where each person is monitoring the right data for their role.
They know how to spot early warning signs and to delve deeper.
They rapidly compare notes with others (in this photo those sitting adjacent in related roles) who have similar and/or complementary data to problem solve with before escalating serious concerns.
Each is part of the whole and each is crucial for a successful mission.
All in all using key performance indicators to minimize blindspots, maximize success, and mitigate risks.
Conducting environmental scans
Another tactic commonly used for minimizing blindspots is to conduct environmental scans. This is often done in conjunction with strategic planning, but elements of this can be conducted routinely.
I think of an environmental assessment as a way of taking stock – both internally and externally – of shifts. These can be shifts in our market or industry. Trends in technology or customer preferences. Emerging opportunities and, likewise, competitive threats. Strategic advantages as well as areas of weakness.
At one client, we involve a large number of people, from a wide variety of roles, in the cyclical environmental scan so as to gain a range of perspectives to minimize blindspots. By actively seeking out varied perspectives we surface more known unknowns.
This intel informs proactive strategies to pursue new opportunities, take intelligent risks, capitalize on advantages, and shore up areas of exposure.
Soliciting perspectives
The higher we move up in an organization the more vital it becomes to actively solicit other perspectives. Many organizational cultures create a divide where bad news does not flow readily. As a leader, we have to seek it out.
Further, on a personal growth level, unless we actively seek input about our effectiveness, we may be blind to how well we are leading. Our effectiveness as a leader is best viewed from a 360 perspective.
And while there are 360 tools to do this robustly and periodically, great leaders continue to seek feedback and feed-forward on an ongoing basis.
For example, asking: I am working to improve my effectiveness in X. Over the past month, have you noticed a difference? What suggestions do you have for how I could be even more effective in this?
When done with genuine sincerity, people will share when asked. Only a few will share without a prompt. But be wary, if all you get is roses every time! Take this as a sign that your approach to asking or acting on feedback might need improvement.
Using data, scanning the environment, and soliciting varied perspectives…These are just three ways leaders reduce their blindspots.
If you’d like to receive these Inspirations in your inbox every other week, you can subscribe to Kathy’s Excellence Advantage Inspirations Newsletter.
Kathy Letendre, President and Founder of Letendre & Associates, advises organizations and leaders to create their excellence advantage.
Contact Kathy by phone or text at 802-779-4315 or via email.