Blind Spots!

We all have them. They are things about ourselves, our personalities, our behavior, manners of thinking that we do not know exist. But the funny thing is, if you don't know they exist and you can't see them, how can you ever know them?

It is kind of like particle physics, where scientist theorize why the universe is someway and then come to believe there is something that exists that you can't see, haven't ever seen, but must be there. Like the quark. We believed they existed before we had ever observed them. We, in fact, had to devise experiments that would allow you to observe them and then by trial and error run them over and over and analyze data with super computers to determine if we had seen one.

So how does a person learn about their blind spots. And an even more challenging question is how do you help a person that works in your organization be encouraged to see blind spots that they don't even know exist? It can be like telling someone that they have a parrot on their shoulder when they can't see it or hear it themselves.

The bible gives great direction in this area. The parable of the log and the splinter is the key. This parable speaks about seeing a splinter in someone's eye. When we see a splinter in another person, what we are supposed to do is take our log out first and then we will be able to see clearly to take the person's splinter out. I believe it is encouraging us to lead with our logs. The way to do this is we go to the person with the splinter, confess the log we know about in our live. This is leading with our humiliation. As we do this, we confirm to a person that you can see blind spots, because if we are leading with a log, they obviously see it. As we humble ourselves and speak about how we have had trouble seeing this issue, in fact, as we tell the story of how we were blind to the fact that we were doing it, will cause a person to begin to see the evidence for blind spots. If he has something as large as a log that he can't see, and he is a successful guy, then what things are in my eye's that I can't see. This is the first step to setting down our defenses and offenses with this guy telling us we are blind. The first step to accepting that we have blindnesses that we can't see by definition and as such the first step to realizing our need for others in our lives, who we trust to help us begin to see more clearly.

So my solution to blind spots and organizational learning and growing is for the leader to endeavor to lead with his logs. Its an easy say and a very tough and humiliating do. The first thing that happens to a leader who leads with his logs is this. They leave you hanging out. All by yourself, as if you are the only one in the room with a problem.

That's all for now.