Battling Blind Spots to Boost Management and Marketing Effectiveness

Blindspots are something we all have based on our past experiences, interactions with others, and the opinions and values we’ve formed over time. I remember learning early in my career about the Johari Window in a leadership seminar I attended. It’s a model designed to help us understand and improve communications through the recognition that we all are impacted by the things we don’t know. Human nature is such that each of us has biases and blind spots that we’re generally not aware of.

Why is it important to be aware of blind spots as a leader?

It’s important to be aware of our blind spots because they may cause us to fail to recognize opportunities, challenges, or risks that we might face. Our blind spots may be limiting our ability to establish strong relationships with clients, customers, employees, and others. And, our blind spots may limit our ability to achieve the level of success we would like to achieve both professionally and personally.

Top Tips for Identifying Blind Spots

So, how can you identify what you can’t see? There are a number of things you can do to gain more vision into your own blind spots:

1. First, acknowledge that you have them.
2. Then, be continually open to receiving feedback from others and proactively seek that feedback.
3. Whenever you find you have a strong opinion about something—positive or negative—explore those feelings. What might you be missing? What misconceptions might you have?
4. Seek input/information that is contrary to what you believe. Be open to the potential that you may be “wrong” or “misinformed” about certain interests or topics. At the point when we feel most strongly—and most certain—about something, is the point where it can be helpful to examine the potential for blind spots.
5. Finally, be a lifelong learner, continually monitor the external environment to be alert to shifts and changes.

Above all, be alert to the potential for being closed-minded or failing to be open to others’ perspectives and points of view. We fail to learn anything when we surround ourselves with people who feel and think exactly as we do. Where we have the opportunity to learn is when we expose ourselves to different viewpoints and perspectives and are open to the valuable insights we can gain by being open-minded and continually alert to our blind spots.

About Us

Strategic Communications, LLC, works with B2B clients to help them achieve their goals through effective content marketing and management with both internal and external audiences. We work with clients to plan, create and publish high-quality, unique content. Whether on- or offline, or both, we’ll help you achieve desired results.

(Strategic Communications is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise through the Wisconsin Department of Administration.)

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